Continuation of Nurses' Protests Against Mandatory Overtime, Low Wages, and Harsh Working Conditions: Our Patience Has Run Out

About a month after the start of protests by nurses in Iran over poor working conditions, protests were held in several cities on Saturday, September 17. Previously, the "Coordination Council of Nurses' Protests" had issued a call for these gatherings on social media. The channel "Civil Protest Market" published images of these gatherings at Beheshti and Naqvi hospitals in Kashan, where protesters held placards with slogans such as "No to Mandatory Overtime" and referred to the meager pay for one hour of overtime. This Telegram channel also reported on a gathering of nurses in front of the governor's office in Qorveh, where they protested against low wages, mandatory overtime, the non-implementation of the salary adjustment guidelines for health system employees (special bonuses), and their dire living conditions. Images of the nurses' protests in Isfahan were also shared on social media, where they chanted slogans like "Overtime 20 Tomans - Shame, Shame" and held placards stating "Nurses' Patience Has Run Out." In Qom, nurses gathered in front of the governor's office, chanting "Nurse, shout out - demand your rights." Nurses have repeatedly protested their working conditions in recent years, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. These protests have intensified in recent weeks, with nurses striking or gathering in dozens of public hospitals across more than 20 cities. They say the wage gap between health system workers in Iran and acceptable global standards needs to be minimized. The ILNA news agency reported that after three weeks of protests, only 1,600,000 Tomans were deposited into nurses' accounts. One nurse stated that "this meager payment was meant to calm the nurses." Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, Secretary-General of the Nurses' House, told "Tejarat News" that after negotiations with the new Ministry of Health team, they reached "good results" that, if implemented, would raise the minimum wage for nurses from 25,000 Tomans per hour for mandatory overtime to over 100,000 Tomans per hour. The costly "Health Transformation Plan" of President Hassan Rouhani's eleventh government not only had multiple execution flaws but also overlooked nurses' salaries, significantly increasing the workload on nurses by prioritizing treatment over prevention. Amid the ongoing unresponsiveness of health ministry officials to nurses' demands, the Secretary-General of the Nurses' House reported on Wednesday, September 6, that about 200 nurses are migrating from Iran each month, calling the current working conditions for nurses a "serious threat" to Iran's health security. Statistics from the Nursing Organization also show that the migration of nurses from Iran has doubled. This is while the actual figures are much higher than what is officially reported. Ignoring nurses' demands occurs at a time when Iran is grappling with a shortage of nursing staff, a problem exacerbated by the wave of nurse migration. The Secretary-General of the Nurses' House of Iran states that there are 1.6 nurses for every thousand people in the country. According to international registered statistics in 2018, the number of nurses and midwives (per one thousand people) in Iran was 2.08. This index reached a maximum of 2.63 in 2017 and a minimum of 1.40 in 2004 over 14 years. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 2.5 medical personnel (doctors, nurses, and midwives) per one thousand people are required to provide adequate primary care coverage in any country. On September 6, nurses gathered at Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, chanting "A nurse dies, but does not accept humiliation." Other images from the gathering of emergency staff at 115 Bushehr showed: "A nurse dies, but does not accept humiliation." "Nurse, shout out, demand your rights" was the slogan of protesting nurses in front of the governor's office in Kermanshah. Protesting nurses in Gorgan also chanted: "Nurse, shout out, demand your rights." The wave of migration in the health system staff; forcing nurses into overtime without proper payment. The U.S. State Department and the "International Council of Nurses" expressed concern over the detention of protesting nurses in Iran. Protests by nurses and emergency personnel occurred in at least nine cities in Iran; several protesters were detained in Bushehr. Protests and strikes by nurses continue in Iran; protesters in Gorgan shouted: "Nurse, shout out, demand your rights." Prince Reza Pahlavi supported the nurses' protests, stating: "Your rights are in the pockets of domestic rulers and foreign terrorists." Independent labor organizations, supporting the nurses' strike, called for "unity among workers, teachers, and nurses." A nursing activist stated: "The Ministry of Health and the medical mafia prevent the implementation of the 'Nursing Service Tariff Law.'"