Bakery owners and workers in at least nine cities in Iran protested May 17 and 18 over rising costs, delays in government payments of subsidies aimed at keeping bread prices low, and frequent power outages that ruin production. Bread is a key staple in the Iranian diet.
“Last year the government told bakers not to charge people for 40% of the bread price,” one baker told the press. In return, the government was supposed to deposit that amount in the bakeries’ accounts. “But since April 23, not only has the government broken its promise, but it hasn’t paid a single rial.”
“Enough with promises, our table is empty,” protesters chanted. At one protest they held a banner saying “We are bakers, not slaves, hear our voice.”
The protests take place amid a deepening economic crisis and growing opposition among working people to the Iranian regime’s threats against Israel. The government fears that if it raises bread prices, it will provoke more widespread protests.
Most bakeries are small businesses. In Markazi province alone, with a population of under 1.5 million people, there are 1,600 bakeries.
The government buys wheat from farmers at a guaranteed price and then sells it at a subsidized rate to bakers who join the government program. The bakers must meet a quota and sell the bread at a government-set subsidized price, which varies from province to province.
Last year the government raised the price on some varieties of bread as much as 66%. Bakers who are not part of the program charge much higher prices.
At a protest in Yasuj May 18 bakers said the government has “cut subsidies, raised the price of flour, sells yeast at the price of gold, and cuts off electricity without warning, causing dough to spoil — then shamelessly blames bakers for the rising prices!”
In Ahvaz wheat farmers protested alongside bakers, saying the government had not paid them for their wheat.
The Union of Truckers and Drivers of Iran solidarized with the protests May 17. “Today, bakers across the country took to the streets,” the union’s statement said. “All segments of society are fighting for their rights.”
The truckers union has announced a nationwide one-week strike that will begin May 21.