HomeNEWSIRAN NEWSNurses continue their strikes and protests as the regime ignores their demands
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Nurses continue their strikes and protests as the regime ignores their demands

By Mahmoud Hakamian
Nurses protests in Iran
Nurses protests in Iran

Nurses in cities across Iran have been on strike for 10 days, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Videos posted on social media show nurses continuing these protests in different cities, including several hospitals in Mashhad, Jahrom, and Yasuj. Protesters were chanting slogans such as, “We will not go anywhere until we get our rights!” In previous similar protests were held in dozens of cities.

These protests continue under circumstances where, according to reports, striking nurses have been “threatened with dismissal and the formation of security cases through numerous calls from security forces.”

According to reports, it has been more than 10 days since the start of the nurses’ strikes in several cities, particularly in Shiraz, and the scope of these strikes is expanding daily.

In a statement regarding the recent protests by nurses, the Nurses’ Association Khorasan Razavi province, declared that the ongoing protests by nurses in various cities are the result of “wrong policies, narrow-minded perspectives, discriminatory attitudes, and doctor-centered management.”

In this statement, the Nurses’ Association called for the full and unconditional implementation of the law on retirement for arduous and harmful jobs, allowing retirement after 20 years of service with 30 days of salary.

The statement mentioned that one of the nurses’ demands is the implementation and issuance of special extraordinary allowances for nursing staff “with a reasonable coefficient” and the precise determination of its financial resources by the Parliament and the Planning and Budget Organization.

The statement emphasized that this measure should be applied from the beginning of the current year and should be permanently included in the budget.

The Nurses’ Association also called for a change in the implementation method of the Nursing Tariff Law, stressing that this change should result in each nursing staff member receiving at least four times their current pay.

The statement also stressed that the hourly rate for nurses’ overtime should be at least 1.2 million rials considering the difficulty of their work, and that nursing decisions and regulations should be made with the presence and input of the nurses themselves and their representatives, without interference from other sectors.

According to the regime’s ISNA news agency, Fatemeh Bahreini, the head of the Nursing System Organization of Mashhad, referring to the longstanding protests of nurses, stated: “The nurses’ tariff has been implemented in the worst possible way after 16 years, and despite repeated protests and gatherings, the tariff issues have not been resolved.”

She added: “The nurses’ bonuses have been cut and are being given in smaller amounts under the name of tariffs.”

Referring to today’s nurses’ gathering, Bahreini said: “Since the beginning of this year, nurses have held gatherings, but so far, there has been no follow-up on their demands.”

Bahreini also said that during the Raisi administration, the Vice President issued a directive on to provide welfare credits, but the credits were not provided .“Unfortunately, this is such that in Mashhad, our housing allowance is 1 million rials per month. In various occasions, no money has been paid to our nursing colleagues in Mashhad,” she said.

One of the important problems of nurses is the taxing overtime work. Nurses receive 200,000 rials per hour for overtime, and a nurse with 28 years of service receives 430,000 rials per hour without tax deductions.

“Some departments have excess staff where overtime is not needed, but nurses are forced to stay for overtime,” Bahreini said.

Nurses are one of several communities that are holding protests across the country against the regime’s policies and corruption. On Sunday, in tandem with the protests of nurses, retirees of the Social Security Organization and the steel sector held protest rallies in different cities. The protesters demand higher pensions and basic services according to the regime’s own laws.

Literacy educators also held rallies in Qom, demanding the promotion of their contract to that of official teachers.

Employees of the oil and gas company in Aghajari also resumed their protests rallies as regime authorities ignore their just and legal demands for better job security and wages.

And the farmers of Isfahan continue their protest rally in Khorasgan Square as the regime is denying them rightful access to irrigation water for their lands.

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Mahmoud Hakamian
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