Protests by groups of nurses and healthcare workers continue in objection to poor working conditions and unmet demands.
These protests were held on Sunday, August 18, in several cities, including Mashhad, Yasuj, Jahrom, and Qazvin.
The protest by nurses at Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad continued for a second day, and nurses from other medical centers in the city, including Hasheminejad Hospital, Akbar Children’s Hospital, Taleghani Hospital, and Velayat Hospital, joined the protests on Sunday.
In Yasuj, the nurses’ protest also continued for a second day.
Images of the nurses’ protests in the cities of Jahrom and one of the hospitals in Qazvin have also been circulated on social media.
The main demands of the protesting nurses include tariff reform, implementation of the law on hard and hazardous jobs, and the cancellation of mandatory overtime.
Nurses’ protests have been ongoing for months, but the latest round began on August 3 at hospitals in Shiraz and has since spread to other cities.
During previous protests, reports emerged of threats and pressure against the protesters. Last month, Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, the Secretary-General of the House of Nurses, stated that around 60 nurses in Kerman had been summoned to participate in the protests.
Following the widespread nurses’ strike across the country, teachers’ and students’ unions also expressed their support for the nurses’ strike.
Security forces at Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd have threatened striking nurses that they will be dismissed if the protests continue.
A senior nursing expert from Isfahan told Iran Focus:
“Our main problem is the lack of implementation of the tariff law, merit increases and compulsory overtime. We receive 20,000 tomans (approximately $0.33) for each hour of overtime. Doctors’ payment for overtime can be up to ten times or more. My net salary is 13.8 million tomans (approximately $230). Even service jobs receive 40,000 tomans (approximately $0.66) per hour for overtime.
The tariff law is not being implemented, and there is a mafia behind this corruption. Work experience does not significantly affect our salary.
Overtime is mandatory. We have no desire to work overtime for 20,000 tomans per hour, but due to staff shortages, we are forced to do so. My total salary is no more than 15 million tomans (approximately $250).
Patients’ companions do not treat us well. No one bothers the doctors; they directly confront us.
The number of work shifts is very high. This month, I have worked more than 29 shifts. Nurses are not provided with hospital food, which is of very low quality. We only get one meal during the night shift.
Low wages are not just for nurses. Even faculty members with a master’s degree earn around $250, and a nurse with a Ph.D. earns about 25 million tomans (approximately $417). As a nurse, I intend to emigrate.”
Qasem Abotalebi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Nursing System, announced in Mars 2024 that the country is facing a shortage of at least 100,000 nurses.
Frustrated with their working conditions, nurses are striking in an attempt to secure their rights.
The strikers are demanding an immediate wage increase, the elimination of mandatory overtime, proper and prompt implementation of nursing tariffs, payment of overdue wages, improvement of harsh working conditions, and an end to the security crackdowns on protesting nurses.
The strike is so widespread that the regime’s security apparatus is attempting to intensify repression through threats, summons, legal action, and the deployment of replacement forces to break the strike.
The statement emphasized that everyone must collectively support the strike in the face of “assaults, threats, and attacks by the regime against the nurses.”
Parvaneh Mandani, a nurse at Imam Hossein Hospital in Sepidan, died on August 2 after accompanying three patients for transfer from this hospital to another in Shiraz due to overwork, a condition referred to in medicine as “Karoshi Syndrome.”
After the death of this 32-year-old nurse, widespread nurses’ strikes began in various cities.
Ahmad Nejatiyan, the head of the Nursing Organization, said in a television interview: “Currently, our nurses are working with half the standard nursing workforce, which leads to mandatory overtime. We cannot stop serving patients, and therefore, nurses are forced to work up to 100 hours of mandatory overtime per month.”
It is reported that nurses receive around 200,000 rials (approximately 33 cents) for each hour of mandatory overtime.
Mohammadreza Sharifi Moghadam, Secretary-General of the House of Nurses, in an interview with the regime’s Shargh daily, mentioned that according to statistics, more than 30% of nurses have experienced physical violence in the workplace. He stated, “A nurse in Yasuj lost an eye due to an attack by a patient’s companion. We have received reports of knife wounds to the neck, chest, and fractures as a result of attacks by patients’ companions.”
On August 11, the Ham-Mihan newspaper reported that nurses from nine hospitals in Shiraz and one hospital in Karaj have stopped working since last week in protest over the neglect of their demands.
The Ham-Mihan report also pointed out the security measures taken against the protesting nurses.
The newspaper quoted a nurse as saying that security forces had contacted him, accused him of being a leader of these strikes, and subsequently threatened him with dismissal.
Sharifi Moghadam, in an interview with Sharg, stated that a formally employed nurse with 15 years of experience earns a salary of 14.9 million tomans (approximately 2.49 million rials or $250), from which 10%, or 1.49 million rials (approximately $25), is deducted for insurance.
The Secretary-General of the House of Nurses noted that nurses in the United States earn between $4,000 and $6,000, and in Europe between €3,000 and €4,000. He said, “Our nurses prefer to stay home rather than do such hard work for a monthly salary of 15 million tomans (approximately 2.5 million rials or $250).”
The problems in the nursing system and the healthcare sector in Iran are not limited to the recent strikes. Nurses also protested in July of this year.
Fereydoun Moradi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Nursing System, announced in June that 150 to 200 nurses migrate each month.
