Iranian nurses demonstrate for fair pay

Hundreds of nurses from all over Iran travelled to Tehran to protest in front of parliament. They renewed their demand for the implementation of the ‘Nursing Tariff Act’, ratified in 2007, which limits the amount of overtime nurses can work, among other benefits. Nurses also called for a reform of the payment system within the different groups of medical, paramedical and nursing staff.

The demonstrators demanded a response from the health commission and the Minister of Health shouting “We are tired of words!”.  At the end of the rally, a nurses’ representative read out the final statement of their claims.

Nurses had rallied outside the Presidential office in Tehran on 29 October and 15 December 2014 for similar reasons. In particular, the income disparity between doctors and nurses, their main demand being that doctors’ pay – in accordance with international standards – should be no more than three times nurses’ wages. In addition, neglecting nurses’ living standards has resulted in a rise in the number of nurses emigrating or leaving the profession. It is estimated that some 40 nurses leave Iran every day to work in other countries. The shortage of nurses has forced the remaining nurses to work many hours overtime.