Tehran Nurses Resign to Protest Poor Working Conditions

Forty nurses and operating room staff of a Tehran hospital have collectively resigned in protest against systemic injustices and inadequate conditions. 

Sources told IranWire that the Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital authorities have used intimidation tactics to deter further signatures from the staff.

The resignation letter explicitly cites numerous protests, repeated attempts to address grievances, and the failure to rectify issues concerning the rights of the workforce. 

It emphasizes the critical nature of the group's work and the inability to continue cooperation in light of "concerns and injustices."

The nurses have articulated several reasons for their resignation, including inadequate and demeaning overtime compensation, substandard salaries, non-compliance with approved payment regulations, and denial of entitlements such as radiation allowances and clothing provisions. 

With approximately 200,000 nurses working in Iran, the nurse-to-patient ratio is 0.7, far below the international standard of 2.5.

Meanwhile, approximately 20,000 trained nurses remain unemployed due to the government's financial constraints, which limit their ability to hire and retain medical staff.

The Ministry of Health has acknowledged the need to recruit at least 100,000 nurses to bring the country closer to the international standard. 

For years, nurses in Iran have voiced their frustrations about overwhelming workloads, inadequate compensation, and a shortage of employment opportunities, but their demands have remained mainly unanswered.

The misallocation of resources by the government, including the recent hiring and deployment of officers to crack down on women not wearing the mandatory headscarf, has created a system that undervalues the crucial role played by nurses, contributing to their mass migration.