Secretary General of the Nurses' House: The Ministry of Health Ignores Nurses' Real Rights

The newspaper 'Donya-e-Eqtesad' reported with the title 'Nurses Between Earth and Sky' quoting Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, Secretary General of the Nurses' House, that the Ministry of Health is ignoring the real rights of nurses and that the new Minister of Health has not taken any useful action so far. Donya-e-Eqtesad in its report on Thursday, October 11, wrote: 'For nearly 17 years, no one has heard the voices of nurses, and despite the payment of a large part of their claims, it is unclear what the conditions are in the nursing community.' The Tehran-based newspaper pointed out: 'It is unclear whether the annual migration of 2,000 nurses will decrease? Will 50,000 nursing graduates join the nursing community in Iran annually? And are nurses working in Snapp willing to return to hospitals?' The emphasis of this newspaper on these questions is because the problems of nurses do not end with arrears, and in this regard, one nursing activist told 'Donya-e-Eqtesad': 'It is still unclear; where has the nursing committee that was supposed to be formed in the parliament reached, and which of the demands have been followed up?' Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, the Secretary General of the Nurses' House, also told this newspaper: 'Part of the payments made so far relates to the arrears of mandatory overtime,' and emphasized that this mandatory overtime is against the will of nurses. He also added: 'They worked 80 hours for 1,600,000 tomans, and this meager amount has not been paid for several months.' According to Mr. Sharifi-Moghadam, one of the main demands of nurses is the full implementation of nursing services that were approved by the parliament in 2007. The Secretary General of the Nurses' House also emphasized that to care for one patient, five or six nurses, including the head nurse, are involved, and added that the total wage for each patient is 270,000 tomans, of which 14 percent is given to the hospital director. He added: 'In the current situation of the nursing community in Iran, many take the nursing entrance exam to prepare for migration, and many nurses change jobs and work in Snapp, and 50,000 graduates have emerged but are not being employed.' Javad Tavakoli, a member of the Central Council of the Nurses' House and a board member of the Nursing System in Mashhad, also wrote on social media: 'The Ministry of Health continues to ignore or misunderstand the words of nurses.' Mr. Tavakoli added: 'Nurses say our problem is the removal of service barriers; the formula for calculating overtime and tariffs must change; the Ministry of Health keeps saying it is paying overdue overtime (20,000 tomans per hour) and tariffs (a few coins).' In recent months, nurses have gone on strikes and nationwide protests in response to the non-implementation of tariff laws, mandatory overtime, and low wages, which have received widespread support from professional organizations. A video of a protest by nurses in front of Yazd University of Medical Sciences, a protest by nurses in Yazd in response to their demands not being addressed, a special program on mental health in the workplace and the nursing crisis, a protest by nurses in Qom: 'Nurse, shout, demand your rights,' severe nurse shortages in Iran; the situation in some provinces is 'critical,' ongoing protests by refinery workers, and the summoning of protesting nurses in Alborz province. A member of the parliamentary observer in the Supreme Nursing System: 'If the current trend continues, we will have to import inexperienced nurses and doctors.' The continuation of nurses' protests over mandatory overtime, meager wages, and difficult working conditions: 'Our patience has run out.'