Iranian Civil Servants Protest Unpaid Salaries in Tehran

Iranian Civil Servants Protest Unpaid Salaries in Tehran

May 8, 2018 2:00 PM

A group of about 100 Iranian civil servants staged a protest outside the nation's parliament to complain about nonpayment of their salaries for the past several months.

Iran's state-run ILNA news agency reported the protesters who joined Tuesday's gathering at the gates of parliament in Tehran were employees of a government fund that provides insurance to Iranian farmers. It said the demonstrators came from different branches of the Agricultural Insurance Fund across Iran.

The news agency said the workers complained about not receiving salaries for several months and not receiving insurance coverage themselves. It said they also demanded job security at their organization, which has about 2,800 employees.

The protesters said they fear a potential privatization of the fund would reduce its workforce by two-thirds.

ILNA reports the protesters expressed hope that Iranian lawmakers would take up their grievances. The fund workers have staged several similar protests since last year.

Iran has seen a wave of public protests around the country since December, fueled by anger toward local and national officials and business owners accused of corruption, mismanagement and suppressing freedoms. Most demonstrations have ranged in size from dozens to hundreds of people.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Persian Service (https://ir.voanews.com/).

Michael Lipin (http://www.voanews.com/author/4422.html)

Michael covers international news for VOA on the web, radio and TV, specializing in the Middle East and East Asia Pacific. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Lipin (https://twitter.com/Michael_Lipin)