Support teachers’ protests in Iran

The Coordinating Council of Teachers Associations in Iran has called for a two-day protest action across the country, today and tomorrow. The protest is against the rising prices, inflation and unprecedented drop in the ability to purchase the basic needs in Iran.

For some time now, teachers have been protesting against the low pay and continuous cuts. Presently, following the recent crash in the value of the national currency, Rial, it has become impossible for teachers to even afford the most basic daily needs. The scale of the drop in the standards of living today is such that many families have been forced to not send their children to schools this year, as they cannot even afford even the stationaries that children need.

Apart from a select minority who can afford the privately-run schools, the situation is dire for the children from the great majority of the population. State-run schools are immensely under-funded and the authorities are totally disregarding the suffering of the children.

In addition, based on the recent investigations, it has become clear that even the pension fund of the teachers has a big hole and large funds have gone missing! Variety of regulations and working frameworks have not been implemented for years, and today teachers, working or retired, have earnings below the official poverty line.

The response of the authorities has so far been none other than imposition of low-pay on teachers and a total disregard for the safety of the pupils and all those who work in the run-down, over- crowded and unsafe schools. Moreover, any protest has been harshly clamped down, with severe punishment, arrests and long-term imprisonment sentences for protesting teachers.

We urge you to support the teachers in Iran in their protest against poverty, high price rises and low living standards, and put pressure on the Islamic Republic’s authorities to recognise the demands of teachers.

Organisation Abroad of -Worker-communist Party of Iran – Hekmatist

October 12, 2018