{"id":340714,"date":"2025-12-21T20:14:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=340714"},"modified":"2025-12-21T20:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:16:13","slug":"workers-retirees-and-medical-staff-rally-across-iran-over-unpaid-wages-and-gas-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/workers-retirees-and-medical-staff-rally-across-iran-over-unpaid-wages-and-gas-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers, Retirees, and Medical Staff Rally Across Iran Over Unpaid Wages and Gas Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_340715\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-340715\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-340715 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025.jpg\" alt=\"Protests by retirees of the Social Security Organization in Shush (December 21, 2025)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025-742x420.jpg 742w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-shush-retirees-of-the-wellfare-organization-21122025-696x394.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-340715\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protests by retirees of the Social Security Organization in Shush (December 21, 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A sweeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/\">wave of protests<\/a> and industrial strikes erupted across Iran on Sunday, December 21, 2025, challenging the clerical regime\u2019s narrative of stability. From the freezing industrial zones of Hamadan to the streets of Khuzestan and Tehran, diverse sectors of Iranian society\u2014including steelworkers, retirees, medical staff, and municipal cleaners\u2014coordinated a unified display of dissent against systemic mismanagement and economic collapse.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Industry in the Deep Freeze<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the western province of Hamadan, the collapse of state-managed infrastructure sparked an immediate crisis at the Rad Steel Complex. On Sunday morning, workers walked off the job after the state gas company severed the factory\u2019s supply. The cutoff occurred as temperatures plummeted to -6 degrees Celsius, leaving the facility paralyzed and its workforce in precarious conditions. Workers reported that the factory holds a debt of approximately 95 billion tomans to the gas department\u2014a financial hole that has led to repeated shutdowns, directly threatening the job security of the labor force.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 21\u2014Hamedan, western Iran<br \/>Workers at the Foolad Rad steel plant went on strike after the Gas Company cut the factory\u2019s gas amid -6\u00b0C cold\u2014threatening their jobs, livelihoods, and workplace safety.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lP01FP1Egg\">pic.twitter.com\/lP01FP1Egg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2002685545835819023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Simultaneously in the south, at the Varda Zartak production group in Kavar, Fars Province, a strike entered its second day. This facility, the second-largest industrial unit in the county, saw its workforce cease all operations after months of written requests regarding wage increases and contract security went unanswered by management.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;Leave Lebanon Alone&#8221;: A Political Indictment<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While industry halted, the streets of major cities were occupied by retirees of the Social Security Organization. Rallies took place in Tehran, Kermanshah, Rasht, and notably in Shush, Khuzestan Province.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The gathering in Shush was distinguished by slogans that targeted the regime&#8217;s core ideological and foreign policy priorities. Rejecting the government&#8217;s interference in their personal lives and its funding of overseas proxies, retirees chanted, &#8220;Leave the headscarf alone, think of us,&#8221; and &#8220;Leave Lebanon alone, think of us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 21\u2014Shush, southwest Iran<br \/>Social Security Organization retirees marched and rallied outside the SSO office, protesting poverty, soaring prices, and inadequate pensions, and demanding free, proper healthcare and hospitals.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1AMcpFU8c8\">pic.twitter.com\/1AMcpFU8c8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2002714108832203020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Further chants such as &#8220;Where is the inflation control? You lie to the people,&#8221; and &#8220;Only in the street will we get our rights,&#8221; signaled a total loss of faith in the administration of regime president Masoud Pezeshkian to resolve the economic crisis through negotiation. Parallel to these events, steel industry retirees in Isfahan gathered outside the pension fund building, demanding the implementation of wage equalization laws.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Public Services on the Brink<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unrest extended to essential public service workers, highlighting the depth of the poverty line. In Dezful, municipal cleaners (<em>Pakbanan<\/em>) rallied to protest extreme exploitation. Despite high inflation in 2025, these workers reported that their wages are still calculated based on last year\u2019s rates. Furthermore, they are subjected to monthly temporary contracts that offer no job security, and they are denied pay for holiday work.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 21\u2014Kavar County (Fars Province), southern Iran<br \/>For a second day, workers at Verda Zartak\u2014the county\u2019s second-largest employer\u2014are on strike after months of unanswered written demands, saying authorities left them no choice but broad protest.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vlXzrRwA4p\">pic.twitter.com\/vlXzrRwA4p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2002686654059061554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, in Behbahan, the healthcare sector voiced its grievances. Nurses and medical staff gathered in front of the Governor\u2019s office to protest delayed wage payments and deteriorating livelihood conditions, further straining a healthcare system already under pressure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The events of December 21 paint a picture of a regime facing a multi-front crisis of legitimacy. Whether it is the inability to provide natural gas to factories in winter, the refusal to pay fair wages to municipal cleaners, or the diversion of national wealth to foreign conflicts, the message from the Iranian street is uniform: the Iranian people have concluded that their rights can only be secured through presence in the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A sweeping wave of protests and industrial strikes erupted across Iran on Sunday, December 21, 2025, challenging the clerical regime&rsquo;s narrative of stability. From the freezing industrial zones of Hamadan [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":340715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[130],"class_list":{"0":"post-340714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-protests","8":"tag-iran-protests"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Workers, Retirees, and Medical Staff Rally Across Iran Over Unpaid Wages and Gas Cuts - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A sweeping wave of protests and industrial strikes erupted across Iran on Sunday, December 21, 2025, challenging the clerical regime\u2019s narrative of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/workers-retirees-and-medical-staff-rally-across-iran-over-unpaid-wages-and-gas-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Workers, Retirees, and Medical Staff Rally Across Iran Over Unpaid Wages and Gas Cuts - 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