Continued Protests by Nurses in Iran; Health Minister Promises to Pay Debts

The protests and strikes by nurses, which began two weeks ago in various cities across Iran and spread to Tehran, continued on Thursday, August 23, in several other cities. Nurses from hospitals in Chabahar held a protest rally in front of the governor's office, and similar gatherings took place in Arak and Mashhad. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education under the government of Masoud Pezeshkian, promised that their debts would be gradually paid in response to the nurses' protests after receiving a vote of confidence from the parliament. On Thursday, Zafarghandi told Iranian news agencies that he had raised the nurses' issues in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, and 'the costs that need to be allocated for this issue have been quickly calculated and approved by the government, and this money should gradually be given to universities and insurance companies.' The new wave of protests began on August 4 with the protests and strikes of nurses in Shiraz hospitals and spread to other cities. Nurses are protesting not only the neglect of their demands but also the harsh working conditions, including 'mandatory overtime with very low wages, exhausting work accompanied by insults and threats' in the workplace. The scope of these protests reached Tehran, the capital, on Wednesday, August 23, where a group of nurses gathered in front of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education. In the meantime, some reports indicate threats and even the arrest of some protesters. The Coordination Council of Nurses' Protests reported on Wednesday that Zahra Tamaddon, head nurse of Ward 10 at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, along with several nurses from this hospital, was arrested by security forces on Tuesday, August 22, due to protests against harsh working conditions. Recently, nurses in cities such as Isfahan, Tabriz, Rasht, Ahvaz, Marivan, Dehdasht, and Kermanshah have also held protest gatherings. In Isfahan, nurses at Kashani Medical Center chanted 'Nurse, shout out, demand your rights,' and in Ahvaz, some nurses gathered in front of the governor's office, chanting slogans like 'We fought with COVID, received no support.' Earlier, Radio Farda reported that despite the severe shortage of nurses in the country's hospitals, short-term contracts of 89 days are being signed with nurses. This type of contract deprives nurses of many of their rights and future claims in case of unemployment, and they themselves refer to it as 'seasonal workers' contracts.' Despite warnings from the Iranian Scientific Association of Psychiatrists to the Ministry of Health and the previous government regarding the dire mental health of healthcare staff, no specific action has been taken to improve conditions, and news related to the migration or death of healthcare staff has become a recurring theme in media reports.