A spontaneous protest by medical workers is unfolding on social media. Doctors and nurses are mass-tagging Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova, complaining about poverty-level salaries. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

According to the medics, despite enormous responsibility, night shifts and the fight for the lives of severe patients, their base salaries barely exceed 140,000 tenge.

"I received a salary on par with junior medical staff. More work, more responsibility, more demands, but we get paid like cleaners. I asked the administration, the answer was – just the base salary rate. The salary is 146,000 tenge, working around the clock, admitting severe patients," an Almaty resident complained on Threads.

She stressed that for such money there is no desire to work in the medical field and appealed to the Health Minister, tagging Akmaral Alnazarova, with a request to revise salaries for medics.

The doctor's post gathered many comments from medical workers who are also unhappy with their salary level.

"I will not stop saying that salaries of emergency service workers must be high – medics, military, firefighters, emergency services. The COVID period and the January events showed who works in difficult times and who can simply switch to remote work. It is so hurtful to receive such a salary, medics are the most undervalued people, there are no privileges like housing payments or early retirement, there is nothing," wrote Dinara Sukhanova.

Doctors, tagging the Health Minister in their posts, write that they do not see Alnazarova's reaction to their messages on the issue of salary increases, unlike patients' complaints, where the head of the Health Ministry responds very quickly and answers Kazakhstanis.

"Most importantly, the minister comments under the posts of all complaining patients, but when it comes to the salaries of doctors and nurses – silence," writes user sholpannorazaly.

Last week at the Kurultai, deputy Dana Medeuova proposed developing a separate law that would enshrine the professional status and guarantees of medical workers' activities in Kazakhstan. In particular, it was proposed to make the system of remuneration for doctors more flexible, taking into account qualifications. Also, according to the deputy, it is necessary to free medics from bureaucratic functions uncharacteristic of them.

Akmaral Alnazarova on her Instagram page expressed support for the deputy's initiative. In the comments, medics immediately asked: "will they raise our salaries now?". There is also no comment with an answer.

"Kursiv" contacted the Ministry of Health with a question about whether they plan to raise salaries for medical workers in Kazakhstan. However, at the time of publication, no response was received.

It is worth noting that almost a year ago, First Vice-Minister of Health Timur Sultangaziyev, in the corridors of what was then the Senate, commented on issues of raising salaries for medical workers. He said the issue is being considered in the Ministry of Health and in 2026, if the government supports it, salaries will be raised.

"Kursiv" previously wrote about how much doctors in Kazakhstan actually earn, based on the medics' own publications. Doctors complain that money is "barely enough to live on."

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