Teachers gather in Hamedan to protest "incomplete approval" of the ranking bill
Teachers in the city of Hamedan held a protest rally on Thursday, December 15, to protest the "incomplete approval" of the teacher ranking bill in the Iranian parliament.
According to videos posted on social media, hundreds of teachers from Hamedan chanted slogans at the rally, including "Teachers, stand up to eliminate discrimination."
At the rally, teachers also held banners announcing their protest against the recent parliamentary resolution and demanding the release of imprisoned teachers.
According to the report of the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions, the Director General of Education of Hamadan Province was also present at the gathering.
Two days after one of the largest teacher protest rallies was held in more than 80 cities on Monday, December 12, Iranian parliament members on Wednesday approved Article Six of the Teachers Ranking Bill, specifying the amount of the increase in teachers' salaries and benefits.
The bill was approved after about ten years of uncertainty in the parliament, and during these years, teachers had always held protest rallies to demand its approval.
Many teachers, including Mohammad Habibi, spokesman for the Teachers' Union, reacted by calling the plan approved in parliament a "sorcery," not a ranking plan.
On December 11 and 12, teachers held widespread protests in dozens of cities to protest the failure to implement the "Ranking Plan" and the "Equal Rights Law." The gathering of teachers in Tehran in front of the parliament was attacked by security forces and some teachers were arrested.
The rise of nationwide protests by educators and the approval of Article Six of the Teacher Ranking Bill have taken place at a time when the Islamic Republic of Iran is grappling with many economic problems, including economic sanctions resulting from nuclear activities.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the annual inflation rate in November was 44.4 percent, and based on official statistics from the Ministry of Labor, the average price of more than 83 percent of food items in Iran has exceeded the crisis level.
Source: Radio Farda
