Nurses of Milad Hospital in Tehran held a protest in front of the hospital’s entrance, demanding pay raise and payment of their salaries during the pandemic.
The state-run ILNA news agency reported that the protest was held on January 12, 2021 in Tehran.
Nurses of Milad Hospital who participated in this protest said: Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have not received our fees for fighting the Coronavirus. We did not have a salary raise in recent months, either. This is despite the fact that our job has become difficult and hazardous after admission of patients infected with the Coronavirus.
The protesting nurses were accompanied by a group of the hospital’s staff. Their demands included a 50% raise in their salaries, payment of fees for fighting the Coronavirus, payment of their past-due salaries, job security, official contracts, and attending to their demands. (The state-run ILNA news agency – January 12, 2021)
Hamzeh-zadeh, the new manager of Milad hospital, has separated the hospital staff from healthcare workers and does not pay the staff.
The executive manager of Milad Hospital has declared that the hospital is being run by a contractor company and is self-sufficient, adding, “We do not have anything called pay raise or budget for payment of fees for the fight against the Coronavirus.”
Two weeks ago, the nurses and healthcare workers employed by contractor companies held at least 7 protests to demand their salaries and benefits.
The clerical regime exploits nurses and healthcare workers. In return for their sacrifices and hard work in the frontline of the fight against the Coronavirus, it does not pay their salaries and benefits or fires them.
At least 60,000 nurses and healthcare workers in Iran have contracted the Coronavirus. The twitter account of the Medical System Organization tweeted on January 10, 2021: “More than 200 physicians have died because of the Coronavirus during the pandemic.”
