Member organizations and supporters of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) held a peaceful demonstration against tax increases and retirement age changes at Sukhbaatar Square on January 12. Protesters demanded the state to reverse its decision to extend the retirement age and increase seven types of taxes, namely excise tax on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, personal income tax, social insurance fee, savings interest tax, excise on tobacco and automobiles, fuel tax, and tax on electric, hybrid and low-emission vehicles. The excise tax on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, personal income tax, and social insurance fee were raised this year as part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, while the others were increased last year. “Cabinet and Parliament agreed to reconsider the tax issue and make a more accurate decision during our negotiation meeting earlier this month. Since there haven’t been any concrete results, we are now demonstrating,” stated Kh.Amgalanbaatar, the president of CMTU. He announced that demonstrations will take place in every province and that the protest is not the end of their opposition if MPs do not accept their demands. Reportedly, member organizations and supporters of CMTU are ready to strike if called for. Employees working in the mining, energy, health, education, and other sectors have been opposing these government decisions since February 2017, sending letters of notice and demand to the government and organizing demonstrations, but their efforts have been fruitless, reported Kh.Amgalanbaatar. General Secretary of CMTU G.Adiya stated, “The purpose of today’s protest is to display our opposition to the government decision to increase the retirement age, social contribution fee, and personal income tax. CMTU has been strongly against these decisions ever since they were announced. If some kind of countermeasure isn’t taken, all CMTU members, especially workers of heavy industries, will even hold a strike.” As for the education, culture and science sector, teachers have been demanding the government to increase their salary since August 2017 to no effect, and yet, the government is increasing their retirement age, complained general organizer of the Mongolian Education and Science Trade Unions Z.Tsogtgerel. He added that teaching is a difficult job that requires high levels of mental workload every day and that a 60-year-old can’t teach or keep up with a six-year-old. “Teachers work with at least 70 children in a class and use their brain for many hours, which causes tremendous stress. Most teachers will not be able to live until they reach the new retirement age. If extending the retirement age is absolutely necessary, it should be imposed for specific sectors depending on their working conditions, not for the masses,” Z.Tsogtgerel said. Since January 1, 1,461 individuals sent petitions against the increase of personal income tax to the Standing Committee on Petitions, according to CMTU. Before the decision took effect, it was estimated that it would affect eight percent of the population, but a study conducted after it took effect showed that the personal income tax increase actually affected 11.7 percent of the population. Based on this study, the public approached the Standing Committee on Petitions to have the government look back on its decision to increase taxes.