Iranian teachers protest low wages, demand '80% ranking plan'

Teachers across Iran, including Eastern Kurdistan, took to the streets on Saturday protesting low wages and the right to teach Kurdish in schools. 

Saturday marked the first day of the academic year, where teachers marched in front of the education ministry and government offices in the cities Tehran, Kermanshah, and Shiraz including 37 others and where many female teachers were present. 

Protesters are asking the government to implement the "80% ranking plan” regarding the teachers’ salaries. 

"The government and parliament are obliged to approve this initiative. If this initiative is approved and implemented, the legal basis for teachers’ wage will be at least 80% of that of faculty members, because teachers and members of faculty boards should be receiving equal salaries," the Iranian Teachers Coordination Council said in a statement. 

September 25 - Shiraz, south-central #Iran
Teachers rallying and demanding answers from officials regarding their long-raised economic woes and inefficient salaries as inflation continues to rise across the country.#IranProtests #اعتراضات_سراسریpic.twitter.com/DeRBw31UPn

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 25, 2021

The teachers have been protesting since last year but demands have not been met by Iran’s administration. Among the teachers' unmet demands are pension rate adjustments in line with inflation.

Tehran has downplayed the protests and tried to delegitimise their claims, saying that some of the teachers have “failed their exams.”

Teachers earn around $200 a month and many have fallen into severe poverty amid a 50% inflation rate in the country, which has resulted in some teachers committing suicide, according to Iranian TV station Iran International.