Dzulkefly Ahmad also gave an assurance the welfare of those required to put in the additional hours would be better taken care of as they would be given more flexible shifts, Sinar Harian reported.

He also said nurses generally work four to six days a week and for not more than 12 hours a shift.

They are also given a one-hour break and between a day to three days’ rest a week.

“So I feel that it (the requirement to work additional hours) is reasonable,” he was quoted as saying.

Yesterday, concerns were raised over the new directive which will take effect on Dec 1. According to the directive, nurses working on shifts will be required to work 45 hours a week, up from their current 42.

Senator RA Lingeshwaran, a former director of the Sungai Bakap Hospital in Penang, said the 45-hour workweek was more suited to office-based civil servants working five days a week, from 8am to 5pm, with weekends off.

He said comparing shift workers to office workers was illogical as the physical and mental impact of night shifts was not the same.

Malayan Nurses Union president Saaidah Athman said it was unfair to compare nurses who worked shifts, including night duty, to office workers who only worked weekdays.

She said most of the nurses were women with families, and requiring them to work additional hours would lead to more stress.