Iran teachers protest over pay and pensions as inflation bites

Hundreds of teachers rally in cities across Iran to protest the slow implementation of salary and pension reforms, state media reports.

The protesters are demanding that the government move more quickly on a planned grading system for teachers based on experience and performance. They also want their pensions to be aligned with the salaries of working teachers as soon as possible.

In Gilan province on the Caspian Sea coast, around 150 teachers march in the city of Rasht, while another 70 do so in Lahijan, the state broadcaster reports.

Protesters chant slogans such as “if embezzlement is reduced, our problems will be solved,” and “we only heard promises, we didn’t see justice,” it says.

In Iran’s third-largest city, Isfahan, around 300 teachers demonstrate, the Mehr news agency reports, adding that another protest is held in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province in the southwest.

Hit by severe economic sanctions imposed since 2018 by the United States, Iran has seen inflation soar to close to 60 percent, exacting a heavy toll on the standard of living of public sector staff and others on fixed incomes.