Nurses in Various Iranian Cities Protest Mandatory Overtime

ILNA reported on Saturday, April 20, that nurses in hospitals across various cities in Iran have launched campaigns protesting against "mandatory overtime." According to ILNA, among the protests against mandatory overtime, some nurses in Mashhad have filed complaints with the Administrative Justice Court. Additionally, about 200 nurses from Shahid Rajaei Hospital in Shiraz have filled out requests to avoid mandatory overtime due to "excessive shifts and very low amounts of mandatory overtime pay." The protesting nurses state that they are no longer willing to accept mandatory overtime, which they describe as "forced labor." ILNA noted that the compensation for mandatory overtime for nurses is "very low, ranging from 16,000 to 20,000 tomans per hour." In this regard, the website "Jamaran" reported that a member of the Health and Treatment Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly pointed out that the departure of nurses and healthcare staff "will be one of the serious challenges in the health sector in the future." He stated that the number of nurses is insufficient and that the step taken by the parliament to satisfy nurses was the pricing of nursing services, but this pricing was neither adequately compensated nor timely executed. Mohammad Ali Mohseni Bandpay added, "Due to the tourist-friendly nature of the western Mazandaran province, especially in Nowshahr, Chalus, and Kelardasht, the workload for nurses in our region is very high, and hospitals are facing severe financial problems." He further mentioned, "High workload, delayed payments, and the low number of staff along with the volume of patients visiting this hospital have led to relative dissatisfaction." This member of parliament also stated, "Hospital costs are exacerbated by low government tariffs and at least 8 months of delayed payments by insurance organizations, as well as accumulated debts of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and the negligence of officials, which has increased the workload for nurses." Mohseni Bandpay emphasized that "the situation of the nursing community is not good at all" and that the negligence of officials in this regard is clearly evident. Previously, Abolqasem Abotalebi, a member of the Supreme Nursing Council, described the situation of nurses migrating from Iran as being at "the brink of crisis" and called for solutions. He noted that about 10,000 nursing personnel are trained annually, and in 2022, nearly 3,000 nurses emigrated. According to health ministry officials, the destinations for nurses' migration include a wide range of countries, from Iran's neighbors and the Persian Gulf region to Western, European, and South African countries. Abotalebi also criticized the "drip-feed" hiring of nurses, stating that to reach the standard of 2.5 nurses per bed, the current number of 240,000 nurses in Iran must triple. Nurses are among the groups that have shown their dissatisfaction to the Islamic Republic officials through protests and gatherings in recent years, demanding attention to their grievances. In some cases, these protests have faced repercussions, such as a six-month suspension from service for protesters. Ismail Shahidi stated that discrimination between nurses and doctors is a major issue for healthcare staff in Iran.