The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) have reported that there was a staged protest at the Namazi Hospital of Shiraz in southern Iran. They were protesting the status of their pay and stopped working for a day.
On 12th October the online News Agency reported supervisor of Namazi Hospital, Dr. Mohammadreza Edraki, saying that the situation is critical. Edraki said: “The health insurance organization has not paid the 6-month dues to this medical-education center. Like the other authorities, we are also concerned about this problem.”
Dr. Edraki explained that because of the striking situation, the doctors at Namazi Hospital have not been paid anything other than their basic salary for a year. They have not received any payment of productivity bonuses.
“In addition to the bonus payments, the overtime payments of the hospital staffs have not been paid for a year and this issue has affected the efficiency of the employers. We urge the leading authorities to resolve the issue.”
“As the hospital has no incredibility, the clearance of the 5-month dues also brings an opportunity for the prompt payments of bonuses and overtime pays. The crippling debts of the insurance organizations to the hospital have brought many problems in the procurement of medicines, disposable medical equipment, and supplies. The condition is so unfavorable that the pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment do not provide us with the medical requirements like before.”
Dr. Edraki also noted that because of the long delay of insurance payments, “we are now really confused”. The doctor added: “To improve these conditions, no other choice crosses our mind. In the day of protest, the staffs took care of the emergency patients although they announced that they will not stop their protests unless the bonus and overtime payments will be cleared. They also asked the authorities to resolve the issue.”
Speaking about how the authorities are aware of the situation, but choose to ignore it, Dr. Edraki said: “This situation is related to the whole country and the follow-ups are done frequently and all of the leading authorities are aware of this issue but so far they have not taken any measure to resolve it. During the day, over 30 thousand people ply across the hospital halls and a high percentage of those are the patients. This figure shows that the number of visiting patients increases and the staffs’ job become harder. Therefore, it is important to address the aforementioned problems of this hospital.”
