Pensioners gather in at least 16 cities; protesters arrested in Tehran
A number of protesters were arrested in Tehran on Monday, June 6, as social security retirees held protest rallies in at least 16 cities in Iran.
As of the time of writing this report, there have been reports of retiree gatherings in the cities of Karaj, Zanjan, Isfahan, Arak, Dezful, Shushtar, Kerman, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Rasht, Tabriz, Mashhad, Qazvin, Karaj, Shiraz, and Tehran.
According to the Free Union of Iranian Workers, the rally of retirees in Tehran, which was scheduled to be held in front of the Planning and Budget Organization based on a previous call, was met with a large presence of security forces, who were present on the streets leading to the organization and prevented the protesters from forming a rally.
According to this report, a number of pensioners were also arrested by male and female security forces and taken to an unknown location in several vans.
According to published videos, protesters in Shiraz showed their protest against their livelihood by holding and carrying empty tablecloths.
In Tabriz, protesters also chanted slogans such as "Death to Raisi" and "Death to the government that deceives the people."
It has also been reported that as the protesters moved in Tabriz, a number of other people joined the gathering and chanted protest slogans with them.
The most important themes of the pensioners' protest at Monday's rally, as in the past, were related to the "proper implementation of equalization of rights" and the government's decision to increase the pensions of non-minimum pensioners by 10 percent.
Social Security retirees are demanding a salary increase equal to the actual cost of living, but the government has even violated the Supreme Labor Council's resolution to increase the salary by 38 percent for those who do not receive the minimum wage.
These retirees say that salaries at other income levels, except for those earning the minimum wage, were supposed to increase by 38 percent, plus 515,000 Tomans, this year. However, this law was rejected, and according to published news, only 10 percent will be added to salaries, which is inconsistent with the severe inflation in the country.
Retirees and pensioners, along with teachers and workers, have repeatedly held protest rallies in recent years to protest their living conditions and the government's indifference to their demands, but most of these protests have been met with clashes with security forces.
Source: Radio Farda
