Call for teachers to gather again; deadline set for release of detained educators
On Thursday, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions issued a call for teachers to gather again, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained teachers.
The council's statement, released on Thursday, June 9, clearly states: "We declare loudly and clearly that if our colleagues are not released immediately and unconditionally, and the legitimate and legitimate demands of Iranian teachers are not met, union protests will continue."
The Teachers' Union Council has also called on educators across Iran to hold a protest rally next week, on Thursday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The council added that it is issuing this call based on Article 27 of the Constitution, which states that "the formation of gatherings and marches is free, without carrying weapons, provided that it does not violate the foundations of Islam."
The Teachers' Union Council also announced that, following nationwide teacher rallies, "accusations and security scenario-building" against teachers' union activists and workers has been added to the Islamic Republic government's "set of suppression methods" as a "last resort" to confront union protests and demands.
This union is referring to the widespread arrests of teachers' union activists during or after protest rallies in various cities in Iran in recent weeks and months.
In recent days, the Iranian Teachers' Coordination Council has also called for the expulsion of the Iranian board of directors from the organization in a letter to the International Labor Organization, announcing that since May 1, 2019, many union activists, teachers, and protestors have been arrested on "baseless" charges such as "acting against national security."
Iranian teachers have repeatedly held peaceful protest rallies in recent years to protest their living conditions and the government's indifference to their demands.
The incomplete approval of the teacher ranking plan, the failure to implement the equalization of pensioner salaries, and the "continuous and systematic" repression of union activists have been the main focuses of teacher protests in the past year.
In its statement today, the Teachers' Guild asked "government officials and members of parliament": "Hasn't the ranking system become a law in parliament? Wasn't it supposed to be implemented from September 31, 1402? Wasn't the implementation period not until June 18?"
The union asked officials: "Why have you refused to implement it [the ranking] despite the rampant increase in inflation?"
Rising inflation, economic pressures, and low wages in Iran have caused not only teachers but also workers, employees, and retirees to take to the streets to express their demands.
The response of the Islamic Republic's authorities to these protests has been repression, rather than addressing them, and even the Leader of the Islamic Republic has claimed that the "enemy" is pinning its hopes on these union protests.
Source: Radio Farda
