A group of nurses held a protest in front of the Isfahan City Prosecutor’s Office on May 21, 2020. They renewed their demands for government to implement the Nursing Tariff Act, ratified in 2007, which limits the amount of overtime nurses can work, among other benefits.
Nurses in Gilan Province held a protest rally in front of the central headquarters of the local University of Medical Sciences, on May 20, 2020, to demand official employment. After the Coronavirus outbreak, the private sector hired nurses on 89-day contracts, a contracting method that fails to respect nurses’ rights.
The nurses held up placards and banners that read, “We have served three months without pay, without insurance, and without a contract …”
In 2019, Ibrahim Mohammadi, Head of International Relations of the Nursing System, declared, “The bill was passed in Parliament 11 years ago, but it has not yet been implemented. This bill benefits society, patients, and nurses – as nurses are more motivated to work, the quality of care improves” (The state-run ISNA news agency – January 14, 2019).
With the implementation of this act, nurses would be able to authorize invoices, and patients would be able to pay for the medical services they receive without having to obtain a doctor’s approval. In addition, 70% of the income from additional services would go to the nurses. Essentially, nurses’ incomes would double and their efficiency would triple.
About 100 types of medical services are provided directly by nurses; however, doctors must stamp the invoices.
If a patient sustains a hand injury and a nurse (versus a doctor) treats and bandages the hand, the patient pays a lower fee.
Insurance companies would also pay less for such treatments to hospitals, and nurses’ salaries would increase (The official IRNA news agency – December 22, 2013).
