The teacher unions in Iran declared their existence in the late 1970s after the revolution. Five independent and non-governmental unions called “Teacher Unions” were established in five provinces, as pioneers in pursuing the rights of teachers and students and entering the field of union demands. From the beginning of the 1980s, more teachers attempted to establish union organizations, to the point where the number of teacher unions reached forty-one.

According to Article 26 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: “Parties, societies, political and trade unions, and recognized Islamic or religious minorities are free, provided they do not violate the principles of independence, freedom, national unity, Islamic criteria, and the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic. No one can be prevented from participating in them or forced to participate in one of them.” Based on this, the mentioned unions held general assemblies after obtaining permission from the Ministry of Interior and the elected board of directors received a license to operate. After the end 

Why do governments shy away from trade unions?The question here is why did these confrontations happen and why did governments completely ignore the explicit principle of the constitution (Article 26). Is it not because trade unions are the true embodiment of collective behavior and one of the pillars of a democratic society? This question has a clear answer: this decision was made in the minds of security institutions and according to their recommendations; according to their assessment, trade unions had to be dismantled. Independent organizations that security institutions could not penetrate or dictate their actions had become a source of fear and terror for them. In dictatorial governments, there is an unwritten but very clear principle: “If one person is against the rule, it doesn’t matter, but if they become two, they must be monitored, and when they become three, the group must be disbanded.” The reality was that these organizations were formed based on the sense of need of the intellectual class of teachers and in social and cultural forms, independent of the government. The sense of danger for the 

What were the demands of the teachers’ unions?Through reviewing the statements of trade unions, it becomes clear that their demands can be divided into three categories:

a) The origin of education.

• Opposing the commodification of education.

• Private deletion.

• Allocation of appropriate and suitable budget.

• Prioritizing education for the growth of social culture.

• Securing Educational Spaces.

• “Elimination of Kaperi and Kanxi schools.”

• Establishment of educational justice and elimination of sexual and gender discrimination and dismantling of the patriarchal view of education.

• Eliminating Ideological Bias in Curriculum Development;

• Elimination of the Exam Mafia.

• Solving the problem of teacher shortage.

• Attention to modern education; and.

• Other..

b) Students.

• Implementation of the principle of the Constitution and establishment of free, equal and fair education for all students in Iran.

• Elimination of quota system in university entrance and removal of discrimination.

• “Returning close to one million students who have dropped out of school back to their education.”

• Closing Special Schools.

• Improving the quality of education.

• Attention to the needs of the younger generation; and.

• Other…

c) Teachers.

• Payment of wages in accordance with the inflation rate for employees and retirees.

• Implementation of the principle of harmonization for retirees, allocation of efficient insurance for retirees and employed individuals.

• Implementation of Article 26 of the Constitution regarding freedom of trade unions, and implementation of Article 27 of the Constitution regarding holding protest gatherings;

• Conversion of the status of free forces and prevention of their exploitation by non-governmental school founders.

• Changing the status of the green report cards; and

• The freedom of imprisoned teachers who have been unjustly imprisoned for the realization of these demands.

Almost none of the logical demands were positively responded by the government. Studies show that since the beginning of the revolution until now, the state of education in the country has faced severe decline every year. The government’s indifference towards the protests and criticisms of professional institutions is incomprehensible, as if they believe that addressing demands and resolving shortages would lead to a loss of their authority. Based on this, in the past years, critics have been beaten with the stick of security accusations to silence the voices of protesters. 

The approach of governments towards the demands of trade unions.