THOUSANDS of nurses have launched a massive protest in Tehran against poor pay and conditions in the health service.

The nurses gathered in front of the parliament at the weekend to demand the implementation of the Nursing Tariff Act that was ratified in 2007 and limits the amount of overtime nurses can work.

Nurses from Tehran, Yazd, Khorasan, Hamedan, Mazandaran, Gilan and other provinces  travelled to Tehran for the protest.

They said that the massive size of the demonstration had been a response to remarks by Health Minister Seyed Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi about the small number of protesters at previous gatherings in October and December.

Nurses gathered outside parliament on October 29 and held a protest outside the presidential office in Tehran on December 15.

Parliamentary leaders tried to pacify the protesters on Sunday by promising that their grievances will be dealt with.

Parliamentary social affairs committee head Abdulreza Azizi sought to persuade the nurses that they have to be patient for their grievances to be examined by the responsible authorities.

He claimed that legislation about health services was under way and half-complete.

“We are tired of words,” some of the demonstrators shouted.

They asked why charges for medical services are raised overnight but, when it comes to nurses’ demands, they have to wait.

Their representatives demanded that the parliamentary health committee chairman and the health minister come to talk to protesters.
Nurses’ union general secretary Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam said that the nurses were taking action because previous mobilisations hadn’t yielded results.
international@peoples-press.com