The Iranian Labour News Agency reported Jan. 22 that hundreds of Iranian teachers had gathered in front of their local education offices in the cities of Shahrud and Marivan to protest "their inadequate living conditions, the Ministry of Education’s upcoming budget and inadequate insurance coverage from Talaee Insurance."

A video shared on social media showed hundreds of teachers gathering in the city of Marivan. A representative of the group reads a statement listing the teachers’ demands: nondiscriminatory payment of wages to all government employees, equal pay for men and women, and a suitable and secure environment for teachers.

Prior to these gatherings and sit-ins, 6,000 Iranian teachers addressed a letter to parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, expressing their dissatisfaction with their working conditions. “The majority of Iran's teachers are not able to take care of their basic needs and live under the poverty line. Their status in society has been damaged and they have lost their motivation to work,” stated the letter.

A few days prior to the sit-in, government spokesman Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht announced an increase in the Ministry of Education's allocated budget, from $5.58 billion to $6.67 billion in 2015. With this new budget, he said, teacher salaries will increase by 14%. Yet, according to critics, this salary increase is just another step backward for the teachers.