He said health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad revealed the decision during a meeting with a group of MPs and senators today to discuss pressing healthcare issues.

“The minister said the views of the nurses and others have been taken into account.

“The (three-month delay) will help resolve some issues regarding the additional three hours per week under the new system,” he told FMT.

Lingeswaran, a former director of Sungai Bakap Hospital in Penang, added that the group of elected representatives would continue their efforts to ensure that nurses are not burdened by unfair policies.

Dzulkefly previously described the additional three hours as “reasonable” and assured that the well-being of those working these hours would be prioritised with more flexible shifts.

Last week, FMT reported that the Malayan Nurses Union (MNU) had made a last-ditch effort to stop the addition of extra hours to the 42-hour work week for nurses.

MNU president Saaidah Athman, who led a delegation to hand over a memorandum to the health minister and health director-general Dr Radzi Abu Hassan, said the repercussions of the move on the healthcare sector would be serious.

The directive, issued by the public services department last November, requires ward nurses to work an additional three hours per week, taking their total weekly hours to 45.

The new schedule was slated to begin on Dec 1, but was postponed to March 1 this year following protests.

Saaidah said there were currently 90,000 nurses at public hospitals and health clinics – about 9,000 short of the number needed.

She said adding three hours per week to the workload of already burdened nurses would see a huge exodus from government hospitals, which are facing a shortage as it is.

Saaidah also said that many senior nurses had moved to the private sector or countries such as Singapore and the Middle East where salaries are higher.