A nationwide nurses’ strike in Iran that started final month reveals no indicators of abating as the federal government continues to disregard requires honest wages and improved working situations.
Now in its second month, the strike has unfold to greater than 50 cities and is the biggest occupational protest by nurses in a century, with nurses and paramedics protesting lengthy hours, low wages and necessary time beyond regulation.
Fereydun Moradi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Nursing System, lately raised the difficulty of unpaid nursing service charges that haven’t been deposited in nurses’ accounts for over a 12 months.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi acknowledged that the federal government owes nurses greater than 70 trillion riyals (greater than $116 billion). He mentioned these money owed could be paid promptly, however no motion has been taken and nurses are decided to proceed their labor strike.
The state of affairs has been made worse by the Iranian authorities’s mismanagement of the National Development Fund (NDF), a fund supposed for the nation’s long-term investments. In an interview on state tv on Saturday, President Massoud Pezechkian introduced that, with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, cash from the NDF could be used to pay salaries for nurses, farmers and academics, in addition to important medicines.
The disaster has additionally led to elevated nurse emigration. Ahmad Nejatian, head of the Nursing Association, reported that the typical annual emigration of nurses has doubled between 2021 and 2023. Around 20% of nursing college students now need to go away the nation, a development that’s anticipated to worsen, particularly as nations comparable to Germany and Denmark make it simpler for Iranian nurses to to migrate.
Iranian nurses
This exodus, mixed with low wages and harsh working situations, have weakened Iran’s well being care system: Iran presently has simply 1.5 nurses per 1,000 folks, in comparison with the worldwide common of three. Many nurses report burnout and an incapability to offer ample care to sufferers, placing additional pressure on an already fragile system.
Samira Rahi, a Turkey-based journalist specializing in Iranian social points, criticized the Iranian authorities for its lack of resolve.
“Nurses confirmed their dedication through the pandemic, however the authorities took benefit of it. The Islamic Republic is resorting to non permanent options to superficially tackle the issue, however all these measures will likely be ineffective until the underlying structural issues are resolved,” she advised Iran International.
The way forward for the nursing occupation in Iran, and the standard of care residents can obtain, stays unsure as the federal government continues to disregard the calls for of healthcare employees.