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Iran: Steel Industry Retirees Protest in Front of Pension Fund in Tehran

Steel-Industry-Retirees

NCRI – A group of Steel Industry retirees held a rally in front of the Steel Pension Fund in Tehran this morning, Tuesday, April 18th, 2017. They were protesting the discontinuation of their health insurance benefits.

Participants in this rally were chanting the slogan, “If there is one embezzlement less, our insurance problems will be resolved.” With this protest, they were also announcing their disgust against the officials of Hassan Rouhani’s administration.

It is worthwhile to mention that approximately two years ago during Rouhani’s administration, without any previous notice, about 30,000 retirees’ health insurance booklets were suddenly invalid. The hospitals and healthcare centers, which used to offer services to retirees, wouldn’t accept their insurance booklets anymore and they had to pay full medical expenses for their treatments out of pocket. Retirees, who during their careers have paid toward their health insurance for 30 years, were faced with a situation where they had to pay in full for healthcare services of themselves and their families.

The steel pension fund officials and steel corporation were accusing each other and were trying to escape from their responsibilities toward retirees by placing the blame on one another.

According to the retirees and their families of steel industries of Isfahan, numerous ones are not getting medical treatment for their illnesses, hoping their health insurance issues will be resolved. In some cases, their illnesses had worsen or even resulted in retirees’ death.