Promise of 'Fourfold Increase' in Nurses' Overtime Pay in Parliamentary and Government Sessions

A member of the Social Commission of the Parliament promised that the 'overtime pay' for nurses will be increased fourfold. According to the government news agency Tasnim, Ahmad Beigdeli, a member of this commission, stated that after multiple negotiations with government officials, the Minister of Health has promised that the overtime pay for nurses will rise from 25,000 tomans to 100,000 tomans. He, representing Zanjan, assured the protesting nurses that 'soon the overtime pay for nurses in Zanjan will be increased.' This parliament member claimed to have closely experienced the problems faced by nurses, which is why many meetings have been held with the Ministry of Health to improve nurses' livelihoods. These financial promises come at a time when the 2014 budget bill is still under review in Parliament and the budget for the Ministry of Health has yet to be determined. The intensification of nurses' problems in Mordad this year led to a continuous nationwide strike, where hundreds of nurses and healthcare staff in public hospitals began protests and strikes emphasizing their professional and livelihood demands in at least 16 provinces of Iran, continuing until Shahrivar. Reports indicate that the persistent problems faced by nurses have led the head of the Nursing System Organization to write to the Minister of Health of the Islamic Republic, stating demands such as 'increasing the number of nursing service packages,' 'increasing the relative value of services in some sectors,' and 'realistically increasing the monetary coefficient of nursing tariffs.' The continuation of nurses' strikes has resulted in security crackdowns and the arrest of several nurses, prompting the U.S. Department of State and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) to express concern on Shahrivar 8 regarding the 'unjust detention and sentencing' of protesting nurses in Iran. Images of other gatherings of nurses in Zanjan protesting the lack of attention to their demands show nurses shouting, 'Nurse, shout, demand your rights.' Protests in Yazd included chants such as 'If we don't get our rights, we won't go on shift.' Warnings from the Nursing System Organization indicate a shortage of nurses and an increase in patient deaths.