Retired teachers protest in Iran over unpaid benefits, overdue pensions

Retired educators from provinces nationwide gathered outside Tehran’s Ministry of Education on Sunday, protesting unpaid end-of-service compensation and demanding action on delayed pensions.

These retirees, who include those who traveled from cities across Iran, say they have yet to receive 60 percent of their promised retirement benefits after 30 years of teaching.

During the demonstration, they chanted slogans such as “Incompetent minister, resign, resign,” “A nation has never seen such injustice,” “One fewer embezzlement, and our problem is solved,” and “Teacher, rise up to end discrimination.”

Images circulating on social media show that some retirees had slept in Tehran’s parks the night before, braving the cold to ensure they could attend the protest.

Reports from retiree and teacher networks indicate that the protest will continue on Monday, November 11, outside the Ministry of Education building in Tehran.

Last month the minister of education, Alireza Kazemi said that 50 percent of retiree payments would be allocated in the budget for the current and next fiscal years to address payment delays. However, these retired educators, some of whom have been waiting over a year post-retirement, have yet to receive their end-of-service bonuses.

This protest follows an earlier demonstration on October 22, when retirees gathered outside Tehran’s Social Security Organization.

Despite promises from the authorities, the retirees say that delays in their unpaid wages are eroding the value of their money, ILNA reported on Sunday.

Amid rising tensions with Israel, the Iranian rial last week plunged to a historic low of less than 1/10,000th of its pre-Islamic Republic value, trading at over 705,000 rials to the US dollar in Iran's free market

Amid soaring inflation over 40%, the rial’s continued decline has deepened Iran's economic crisis, leaving retirees struggling as their unpaid pensions lose value daily.

London-based Iranian labor rights activist Sattar Rahmani says the protests were entirely self-organized, with retirees independently mobilizing across cities in Iran, gathering outside the ministry in Tehran to once again voice their long-standing demands.

He sharply criticized Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration’s budgetfor next year as “entirely military-oriented,” emphasizing that funds have been allocated to security forces while essential sectors like education are neglected.

Pezeshkian unveiled next year’s budget recently, allocating nearly 20% of Iran’s oil export revenue—estimated to exceed $10 billion—exclusively to the Revolutionary Guard.

“There should be a budget set aside to ensure that the needs of education are met, so that teachers can be supported and don’t end up living below the poverty line,” Rahmani said in an interview with Iran International. He argued that Pezeshkian's administration is continuing the militaristic approach of Raisi’s government, leaving crucial societal needs, like education, unmet.