Iranian teachers demo for salary, reforms in several cities

TEHRAN: Hundreds of teachers on Thursday rallied in several Iranian cities to denounce the slow implementation of salary and pension reforms, state media reported.

In Gilan province on the Caspian Sea coast, around 150 teachers marched in the city of Rasht, while another 70 did so in Lahijan, state media reported. The protesters chanted slogans such as "if embezzlement is reduced, our problems will be solved," and "we only heard promises, we didn´t see justice", it said.

In Iran´s third-largest city, Isfahan, around 300 teachers demonstrated, the Mehr news agency reported, adding that another protest was held in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province.

Social media platforms showed similar protests in Neyshabur in the northeast, Kermanshah in the west and Khorramshahr in the southwest. The protesters were demanding that the government move more quickly on a planned grading system for teachers based on experience and performance. They also wanted their pensions to be aligned with the salaries of working teachers as soon as possible.

Hit by severe economic sanctions imposed since 2018 by the United States, Iran has seen inflation soar to close to 60 per cent, exacting a heavy toll on the standard of living of public sector staff and others on fixed incomes.