On the Seventh Day of Nurses' Strike in Shiraz; Threats of Legal Action and Dismissal, 'Deployment of Military Nurses' to Hospitals

As the seventh day of the nurses' strike in hospitals in Shiraz and Karaj passes, a protesting nurse reported on Sunday, August 21, that 'instead of preparing for the return of these nurses, hospital managers have requested help from nurses in Tehran hospitals and the military, midwives, and some soldiers.' According to the strikers' statement, their demands include the elimination of mandatory overtime, proper implementation of the productivity enhancement law, correct enforcement of the hard jobs law, the possibility of retirement for nurses with 20 years of service, and settlement of all financial arrears owed to nurses so far. The strikers have announced that they will not return to shifts until 'their orders are changed and their salary situation is corrected.' According to the Ham Mihan newspaper, Mohsen Hatami, a nursing union activist in Shiraz, stated that the nurses' files have been handed over to the police, and they are being continuously threatened, asserting that making this issue security-related does not solve any problems. He added, 'We have 15,000 nurses in Shiraz; we have not heard of anyone being arrested, but they regularly contact them and announce in groups that they will dismiss you and create a security file for you. You are rioters.' Meanwhile, according to a surgical nurse in Shiraz, the nurses' strike has been spontaneous and lacks leadership. However, security agencies have pressured some of his colleagues. Another nurse who has not reported for duty since Tuesday, August 15, has received several messages and phone calls from 'private numbers or unknown numbers' in recent days. In these calls and messages, he was told that he is the leader of these strikes. He added, 'Within an hour, two people called me and said we are from the provincial security. When I explained what had happened, they said that some money has been deposited, while our problem is not just money. We have a 17-year-old problem, which is the nursing service tariff law.' The report continues about the widespread nurses' strike that began on Saturday, August 13, and peaked on August 15. The striking nurses have faced multiple calls from security forces, threats of dismissal, and the formation of security files. The president of Shiraz University announced that all protesting nurses will be dismissed. These nurses reported that 'security agencies and head nurses have contacted them; they threatened them and informed them of dismissal, file formation, and summons.' According to a striking nurse, 'The Shiraz University of Medical Sciences called the nurses and told them to return to their workplaces; the government has changed, and it will take time to fix the situation.' Nurses say their salaries are around 13 million tomans, and if each of them worked in ride-hailing services, they would earn several times this amount. They ask, 'How can nurses live? Many pay around 7 million tomans in rent, several million in installments. Overtime is also mandatory, but each hour of overtime is 16,500 to 17,000 tomans. However, they do not even pay this overtime on time.' While in previous protests and gatherings, the Shiraz nurses were mostly official staff, this time, contract, temporary, and company nurses have also joined them. Reports from Iran indicate that the nurses' strike in Shiraz continues, while nurses in government hospitals in several other cities have also gone on strike and gathered. In the city of Abadeh in Fars province, nurses at Khomeini Hospital held a protest gathering. In Zanjan, nurses and healthcare staff protested against 'unfair payment of tariffs, bonuses, and overtime' at the University of Medical Sciences in that city. According to reports, earlier this year in Ordibehesht, following continuous protests, a group of nurses from Shahid Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Talaghani Hospital in Chalus, Talaghani Hospital in Abadan, and nurses from several medical centers in Yazd submitted collective resignations. Simultaneously, nurses at Golestan and Baghai hospitals in Ahvaz and Baghmalek Hospital also protested, and the resignation of nursing staff was confirmed by the Nursing Deputy of the Ministry of Health. In Yazd and other cities, there was a severe crackdown on nurses' protests, and security rulings were issued against them. In Tehran, one person was dismissed, and several others faced suspension. The continued difficult working and living conditions for nurses have prompted a warning from Ahmad Najatian, the head of the Islamic Republic Nursing Organization. In statements published in Iranian media, he reported a twofold increase in the requests for nurse migration and emphasized that this issue is a 'warning bell for the country's health system.' He stated, 'The migration requests sent to the Nursing Organization during a two-year period, from 1400 to 1402, have increased by about two times.'