Teacher Union Activist Mohammad-Sadegh Fahimi Arrested in Yazd

Teacher union activist Mohammad-Sadegh Fahimi was arrested in Yazd following pensioners’ protest rallies. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations reported his detention and transfer to an undisclosed facility. It has been confirmed that Fahimi was apprehended by security forces at his residence.

The specific cause for Fahimi’s arrest and the allegations against him remain unknown at this time.

Fahimi is an active member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association in Yazd Province.

Teachers and Other Citizens Stage Nationwide Rallies against Poison Attacks on School Students

On March 7, 2023, following mounting serial poison attacks with toxic gas on school students in dozens of schools across Iran, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA), called for protests. In response to this call, teachers, educators, parents of poisoned students and other citizens rallied before the Ministry of Education headquarters in at least 25 cities. Also, the students held similar protests at Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran and the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

The protestors demanded maintaining security for students against the recent chemical attacks on schools. The protesting teachers also asked for teacher’s union demands including the implementation of the “Job Ranking Plan” as passed in Iran’s parliament, closing pension disparities, adjusting the pension with inflation, updating lesson plans and materials, the release of jailed teachers, and stopping the State TV’s smear campaign to divide between teachers and people.

During these protests, several teachers including Golamreza Gholami Kondazi and Mohammad-Ali Zahmatkesh in Shiraz, Baha Maleki and Rahman Abedini in Sanadaj and several students’ parents in Karaj were arrested by security forces. Maleki and Abedini are still in detention, and the rest were released after a few hours.

Moreover, according to CCITTA, security forces injured two protesting teachers with air guns in Sanandaj.

On the same day, several families of death-row prisoners gathered before Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj to demand halting executions. At present, in this prison, at least seven inmates convicted of drug-related crimes are in danger of imminent execution.

The videos below show these protests in several cities:

Gezel-Hesar Prison, Karaj, the protest of death-row prisoners’ families

Sanandaj

Mashhad

Babol

Karaj

Shiraz

Qazvin

Saqqez

Sari

Ahvaz

Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Allameh Tabataba’i University

Other Cities

HRANA Recap: This Week’s Protests in Iran

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a number of protests took place this week in Iran. Read our recap below for details, photos, and videos from the demonstrations


Saturday, April 30

A number of workers of Shush Municipality held protests in front of the governorate building in this city. These workers demanded four months of unpaid wages, two months of unpaid insurance employer contribution and official employment contracts.

One of the workers said: “in total, more than 300 workers work for Shush Municipality through contractors. Many of them have been working for the municipality for about 18 years. Along with wages arrears and unpaid insurance contributions, they wanted to be officially recruited by the municipality.”

A group of workers of IGC contractor company working in a Gas Complex Project NGL3100 in Dehloran went on strike. These workers asked for increasing wages and a work schedule of 20 days on/10 days off.
At the same time, the workers of two contractor companies working in Damavand Petrochemical Company and the Gas Tank Manufacturing Company Gheytasi went on strike.

Sunday, May 1

In response to a call by the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, the retired and working teachers and educators in 45 cities assembled in front of the building of the Ministry of Education. Due to the presence of many security agents before the ministry of education in Tehran, the teachers gathered in several parks in the city.

More than 450 workers of Shushtar Karun Sugarcane Agro-Industry held protests at company premises and before the governorate building in Shushtar city. They demanded official employment contracts for seasonal workers, more workforce to reduce the workload and closing disparities in wages.

A number of pharmacists assembled and protested before Food and Drug Administration in Tehran. One of The protestors said: “It was going to form a workgroup consisting of Food and Drug Administration, the Medical Council and the representatives of pharmacists to address the issues. Yet, so far, such workgroup has not formed.” According to these pharmacists, their jobs have been damaged by a pharmaceutical Mafia.

 

A number of farmers in Mobarakeh City in Isfahan Province gathered before the governorate building in this city to ask for their ware ration.

A number of Social Security pensioners held protests in Arak, Ahvaz, Rasht and Kermanshah before the social security organization’s offices in each city. Their demands include raising pensions to stand above the poverty line, implementing a plan to close disparities in pension and wages, and addressing supplementary insurance issues.

A group of Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry gathered and protested at the company premises.

A number of workers of Shush Municipality went again on strike in protest against the unpaid wages and the unpaid insurance employer contributions.

Monday, May 2

A group of Shushtar Karun Sugarcane Agro-Industry in Khuzestan Province held a protest. These workers demanded modifications in their employment contracts. One of the workers said: “the workers consist of two groups with two different demands. one group who works for contractors and wanted to be recruited directly by the company and the second group have been already recruited by the company but they want permanent and official contracts for the sake of job security.”

Continuing their protest, workers of Shush Municipality gathered to ask for three to four months’ unpaid wages and insurance employer contributions.

On the occasion of teacher appreciation day, a group of teachers and educators in Aligudarz gathered to ask for their demands. They also chanted in protest against the arrest of teacher Ebrahimi Mahmoodi.

 

Thursday, May 5

Along with their families, a group of teacher union activists of Sanandaj and Mariwan held protests on the day of the minister of education’s visit to Sanandaj City. Holding placards in their hands, they demanded the release of the detained teachers Eskandar Lotfi and Masoud Nikkhah.

A group of workers of the Ali-Sadr Cave Tourist-Recreational Complex gathered to protest against not addressing their work demands.

The residents of the rural district of Jowshaqan-e Qali in Isfahan Province gathered to protest against mining activities in the region. According to these protestors, the Iron mine activity in the mountains has endangered the ecosystem.

 

Dozens of Teachers Arrested in Tehran

Mohammad Habibi, the spokesperson of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, broke the news about the arrest of dozens of teachers in Tehran on Thursday, April 21, 2022.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists,  the spokesperson of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations said that in Tehran, dozens of teachers have been arrested.

Mr. Habibi stated that among about 40 teachers who participated in protests, four individuals have been identified as “Shahrzad Ghadiri, a member of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, Maasoomeh Zamani, Ali Goodarzi and 82 years-old retired Ghodrat Forghani.”

In recent months, active and retired teachers all across the country protested to demand the implementation of the “Job Ranking Plan” as passed in Iran’s parliament, closing disparity in pensions, free education for students, a maximum class size of 16, and the release of jailed teachers.