On Sunday, October 14, teachers in many cities across Iran had a sit-down and refused to go to their classes. The sit-down was planned by the coordination council of teachers’ associations and it is supposed to continue tomorrow. The council had asked teachers not to go to class for two days and instead have a sit-down in the teachers’ lounge.

Today the Telegram channel of the coordination council has published images showing teachers in cities like Tabriz, Esfahan, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Tehran, Kermanshah, Marivan, Saqqez, Lamerd, Paveh, Hamedan, Ilam... having a sit-down and refusing to go to class. There were many similar photos and reports from cities across Iran published on social media.

Previously some teachers’ associations had reported that security authorities had contacted them and tried to dissuade them from participating in the sit-down.

In their statement that invited teachers to the sit-down, the coordination council mentioned that the teachers are protesting “the high prices, inflation, and the unprecedented low purchase power of teachers”. The statement continues: “Since the government and the parliament have not been able to help the retired and working teachers and improve the teaching conditions in the country, it is time for us to show our protest to the chaotic state of affairs at the ministry of education.”

Previously, the teachers’ association of Qazvin asked the minister of education, Mohammad Bat’haei, to “visit a few schools on the day of the sit-down and listen to the problems of your colleagues and try to solve them.”

At least six teachers are currently incarcerated in Iran for union activism.