Thousands of teachers staged demonstrations in more than 100 Iranian cities on Saturday, protesting the slow implementation of wage and pension reforms.
Members of the Iranian Teachers’ Syndicate said that at least 15 teachers were arrested in the city of Karaj.
The weekend’s demonstrations are the latest in a series of moves recently held by the Teachers’ Syndicate, in protest against the deteriorating living and economic conditions, which were exacerbated by the US sanctions on the country.
Iran has faced unceasing protests by workers last year over inflation, which hit 40 percent, high unemployment, and mismanagement.
Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) said that the legislative proposals, which were recently discussed in Parliament “do not meet their demands.”
Iranian media reported on Saturday that a large number of education sector employees gathered in front of the Education Ministry’s departments, especially in the cities of Karaj, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Ahwaz, Shahrkard, Sanandaj, Kerman, Ardabil, Yasuj, Yazd, and Bushehr.
A member of the Teachers’ Syndicate, Mohammed Habibi, published video recordings of teachers gathering in several Iranian provinces. One of the videos showed teachers being beaten by security forces before the arrest of a number of them in the city of Karaj. Habibi reported that the attack ended with the arrest of 15 teachers.
