SUWYADA, Syria (North Press) – Samah Hassan, a pseudonym for a nurse working at the government hospital of Zaid al-Shariti in the city of Suwayda, south Syria, is looking for a job opportunity abroad, especially as her colleagues have submitted resignation.
Hassan has been working as a nurse for 20 years, and she has moved from one government hospital to another, but her current salary does not exceed 70,000 Syrian pounds (SYP).
A month ago, Hassan’s friend, who is also a nurse, left to work in a government hospital in the city of Tripoli in Libya for $ 1,500.
Nurses in Suwayda complain about the low salaries and the absence of financial incentives even for those who have decades of experience.
They ask for the formation of a “real” and professional syndicate to organize their work and take care of the employees under its umbrella in order to achieve social insurance for them in cases of old age, illness, accidents and disability.
However, the so-called “popular organizations,” including laborers and teachers syndicates, are considered similar to the Ba’ath Party and do not provide any insurance for their members, except for solidarity funds.
In 2012, the Syrian government issued a decision to establish a syndicate for the nurses, but this did not happen, according to workers in the health sector in Suwayda.
Increasing numbers
The health sector in Suwayda witnessed an exodus of medical staff and nurses, but the cases of leaving the government job increased during the past two years with hundreds submitting their resignations.
There is 1,950 nurses in the hospitals and government health centers in Suwayda, according to the Health Directorate in Suwayda.
The numbers indicate that 50% of the medical staff of the Zaid al-Shariti Hospital have left in addition to the submission of 354 nursing staff throughout Suwayda to cancel their work permits to travel to Erbil, Somalia or elsewhere.
Dozens of resignations are waiting to be approved by the directorate, according to a source in the directorate.
Nurses believe that their salaries do not commensurate with their efforts and the pressures they face.
Ahmed Ramah, a pseudonym for a nurse working at al-Basel Government Hospital in the southeastern countryside of Suwayda, said that five years ago, the hospital had 50 nurses, 75% of whom left their jobs.
He pointed out that the pressure on him as a nurse is “enormous”, especially in light of the spread of armed groups under the command government security.
He stated that he and the rest of his colleagues in the emergency departments are subjected to “attacks and insults when one of the injured from these factions comes for treatment.”
Difficulties and pressures
Suwayda is home to four government hospitals: Zaid al-Shariti Hospital in the city of Suwayda, Shahba Hospital, al-Basil Hospital in Salkhad region, and Mo’men Tala’e Hospital in the town of Salli in the eastern countryside of the city.
Rasmi Ahmad, a pseudonym for a government employee of the Suwayda Health Directorate, believed that the increasing resignations came as a result of a set of difficulties and obstacles that hinder the work of the nursing staff.
“Primarily the deprivation of the basic rights of incentives and the nature of the work which is supposed to be 75% equal to other workers in the health sector.”
He note to the absence of a job description of the nursing profession and the failure to specify the nurse’s tasks and duties, as well as the nurses are not included in the lunch break despite the long hours of working.
The great pressures, especially in light of the coronavirus epidemic, fatigue, staying up late, exhaustion, infection and the “rude” dealings of many patients’ companions, constitute additional suffering, according to Ahmed.