Over 300 contract teachers staged a protest in Kerman on Thursday, July 13, 2017. They represented 38,000 contract teachers from across the country who have difficult working conditions and are not officially employed after 12 years.
The teachers gathered outside the Kerman office of Mehdi Zahedi, chair of the Education Committee in the mullahs’ parliament (Majlis) and demanded immediate employment without any examinations. Women’s presence was prominent in this protest.
One of the participants in the protest said, “The majority of our colleagues are over 40 years of age after 12 years of work and yet, the government officials have just remembered to take tests before employing us.
“Our salaries are not paid on any specific date and usually with 8 or 9 months of delay. We do not receive any insurance benefits. We also have to teach without insurance or salary, for one year in areas that are difficult to reach.”
