At Least Nine Protest Gatherings Held Across Iran
27-October-2025
Category: Labor and guilds
26 October 2025
Category: Workers and Guilds
Breathing in Confinement – At least nine protest gatherings were held by various social groups in different parts of Iran.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, in Tehran, families of prisoners sentenced to death gathered in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) to protest against the issuance and execution of death sentences, calling for their immediate abolition. The families chanted slogans such as “No to executions, stop the executions” and held placards demanding an end to the death penalty.
In the cities of Shush, Karkheh, and Haft-Tappeh, as well as in Ahvaz, Tehran, and Rasht, retirees of the Social Security Organisation held protest rallies to denounce inadequate pensions, discrimination, inequality, poverty, inflation, and rising living costs. They demanded the removal of the Social Security Organisation from government control, the amendment of Article 89 of the Social Security Law regarding healthcare services, and improvements in pensions and welfare benefits. Protesters chanted slogans such as:
“Enough oppression and injustice — our tables are empty,”
“Neither Parliament nor Government care about the people,” and
“We’ll fight and we’ll die, but we’ll reclaim our rights.”
They also called for unity among workers, teachers, and both civil and military retirees.
In the operational zones of Lavan and Siri, employees of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) protested against partial payment of wages, pay disparities, inflation, and the government’s failure to implement salary equalisation. They also objected to the privatisation of health and medical services within the oil industry, calling for full implementation of operational area bonuses, removal of salary caps, full payment of severance pay, cancellation of pension deductions, restitution of unlawfully deducted taxes, and enforcement of Article 10 of the Law on the Duties and Powers of the Ministry of Oil.
In Tehran, retired steel and mining workers from various cities across the country gathered in front of Parliament to protest the incomplete implementation of the wage equalisation plan, deteriorating living conditions, and ongoing injustices. They demanded the removal of salary caps, prevention of the merger of the Steel Pension Fund with the National Pension Fund, and urgent action to address retirees’ healthcare problems. Protesters chanted:
“We will die, but we won’t accept humiliation.”
In Eslamabad-e Gharb, workers of the Kajeh Tile Factory also gathered to protest delayed wages, harsh working conditions, and their employer’s disregard for their grievances.