Tehran public holiday: Air pollution or bus drivers' strike?

The Tehran Governor's Office announced the closure of all offices, universities, and schools in Tehran province on Tuesday, May 17. The reason cited was air pollution. A political activist says the closure is related to a strike by drivers of the bus company.

The Deputy Coordinator of Civil Affairs of the Tehran Governor's Office announced that today, Tuesday (May 17), due to air pollution, all offices, universities, and schools in Tehran province will be closed at all levels of education.

Abed Maleki said in an interview with ISNA: "The Tehran Air Pollution Emergency Committee held a meeting moments ago, and given that the air quality index shows 263 and is in very unhealthy conditions, accordingly, all offices, universities, and schools in Tehran province will be closed for all periods today, Tuesday, May 17."

It was also announced that the Tehran International Book Fair will also be closed on Tuesday due to air pollution.

Political activist Hossein Razzaq, however, believes that the closure of offices, schools, and universities in Tehran is not due to air pollution.

He wrote on Twitter: "In 2005, when the drivers of the Vahed Company went on strike, after a few hours, military institutions replaced them. But this time, so many forces have been sent to other cities that everything has become a mess. Now Tehran, which was not closed with an index of 498, has been closed with an index of 139! The weather is bad, very bad!"

Drivers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company have been on strike since Monday, May 16, protesting the authorities' broken promises and ignoring the livelihood problems of this group. They have been on strike on the Khavaran, Alam va Sanat, Beihaqi (Argentine Square) and Azadi Terminal lines, and have stopped providing services to passengers.

These drivers are protesting the non-payment of four percent insurance premiums for difficult and harmful jobs, as well as the non-implementation of the Supreme Labor Council's wage resolution and the failure to implement a ten percent increase in the salaries of workers at the Waheed Company.

Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, attended a meeting of the drivers of the Tehran Bus Company when the strike began.