May Day 2022 in Iran was an unforgettable and historic day. It showed clearly the unity of workers, teachers, retirees and various sections of the society, against the ruling minority and all useless capitalists. May Day cerebrations were held nationwide despite government repression and widespread arrests. Teachers and retirees called for International Workers’ Day, and workers and other sectors expressed their support for the calls. The government tried to prevent the day by staging arrests, summonses and threats, but failed. The message of May 1st this year was clearly that society has stood its ground and will not back down. Teachers and retirees in Tehran called for a rally in front of the Islamic parliament and in various cities for a rally in front of education and social security centres.
Teachers from different cities and regions also sent a message of solidarity, announcing that “we are all coming”. On this day, according to reports, teachers and retirees gathered with the participation of labor activists and families of students and protesters in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Arak, Khomeini Shahr, Delfan, Nurabad, Kermanshah, Alborz, Karaj, Saqez, Noorabad / Fars, Khomeini Shahr, Shiraz, Aligudarz, Bushehr, Yazd, Harsin, Delfan, Dehdasht, Langarud, Sanandaj, Shushtar, Islamabad-West, Dehgolan, Yasuj, Gachsaran, Ardabil, Saqez, Lahijan, Shahreza, Izeh, Tabriz, Ahvaz Karzin, Rostam and Mamasani, and Masjed Soleiman, Tonekabon, Torbat Heydariyeh, Qazvin and Khorram Bid.
Thus, today, the first of May, the International Workers’ Day, a glorious and widespread movement has taken place throughout the country, and the various sections of the workers, with slogans, statements and speeches, once again showed their solidarity and national unity to fight the oppressors and the thefts by the ruling thieves, They spoke out for a humane, non-exploitative society. This was a strong and united response to the arrests and repressions of the government and the ruling elite. The presence of women in the ranks of speakers, chanters and in the crowd was prominent in these gatherings.
In Haft Tappeh, this hot centre of protests, the workers also celebrated this day by standing on their well-known trench and raised the banner of May Day commemorating the International Workers’ Day. Ebrahim Abbasi was one of the speakers at the ceremony, pointing to the unanswered demands of the workers and emphasizing the continuation of the struggle. A glorious scene of this ceremony was the shout of curse on the oppressors during Ibrahim Abbasi’s speech. The workers shouted: “Curse on the oppressor”, “”Curse on the one who decides against the workers’ and collective interests”.
A glorious moment of this gathering was the appreciation of Ismail Bakhshi, a well-known workers activist who was fired from Haft Tapeeh for defending the workers. They also praised Ms Sepideh Qolian the student reporter who is in jail for supporting the haft Tappeh workers demands, and demanded her release.
In Tehran, where the security forces had surrounded the Islamic parliament with a large armed force and a heavy security atmosphere prevailed, a number of teachers marched to one of the city’s parks, holding banners of protest and posters of imprisoned teachers on this day of freedom and equality.
In Bushehr, repressive police forces stormed a gathering of teachers in the morning, arresting and beating a number of them. So far, the identities of Hamid Khojasteh, Ardeshir Sayadi, Yousef Sayadi, Fereydoun Shafiei, Mahmoud Malaki and Mohsen Omrani, teachers arrested in Bushehr, have been identified.
In other cities, including Sanandaj, Shushtar, Islamabad Gharb, Shiraz, Hashtgerd and Dehgolan, the presence of police and security forces, but despite this the gatherings and speeches were held and many workers and techers and people participated.
The main slogans of the rallies of this day were: “Worker, teacher, student, unite”, “dignity, freedom, justice”, “our shame, our shame, the edjucation minister”, “the imprisoned teachers must be released” “Teacher shout, shout for your rights”, “Free education” , “imprisoned teachers , all political prisoners must be released”
It is worth mentioning that in addition to holding International Workers’ Day celebrations on the streets, workers, teachers, retirees, women’s rights organizations, and children’s rights organizations such as the Writers’ Association celebrated International Workers’ Day with collective or independent resolutions and statements. These resolutions had common points and emphasized the following demands: increasing the minimum wage by 16 million tomans per month and that no worker should be paid less than that, the abolition of compulsory hijab and all discriminatory laws against women, Full and unconditional equality of rights of men and women in all areas of social, economic, political, cultural and family life, an end to securitising the gatherings and protests,
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