Kurdistan teachers protest salary delays, demand timely payments and bonuses
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Al-Sulaymaniyahteachers and employees in the Kurdistan Region (KRI) renewed their protest overdelayed salary payments, demanding that the federal government ensure timelydisbursement of salaries and provide professional bonuses and promotions.
Alan Hama Khosro, head of theTeachers and Employees Movement in Al-Sulaymaniyah, said at a conferenceattended by Shafaq News Agency, “The delays in salary payments are unfair toteachers, employees, and retirees in the KRI.”
“This is unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
"We hold both the KurdistanRegional and Federal governments responsible for the delay in monthly salariesand are surprised by Baghdad's inconsistent requests for the list of employeesand disbursement requirements—sometimes paper, sometimes electronic, andsometimes biometric— without a clear and unifiedprocedure," he added.
Khosro further stated,"Teachers, employees, and retirees, like all Iraqi citizens, are entitledto their salaries as guaranteed by the Constitution and the law.”
In this context, he was surprised bythe Ministry of Education's decision to set the new school year start date,emphasizing that "teachers cannot meet working hours if their salaries arenot secured to cover transportation costs."
The protesters called for “paymentof July’s salaries, three additional salaries from 2023, immediate distributionof professional bonuses and promotions, and resolution on the status of freelecturers.”
In light of these delays, Al-SulaymaniyahRepresentative Soran Omar, during a press conference covered by Shafaq NewsAgency, explained that “the Federal Ministry of Finance has not sent funds forJuly’s salaries,” confirming that “the delay is due to discrepancies in theemployees lists sent by the Regional Government, which complicates andlengthens the audit process.”
"The Ministry toldus that it handles these large salary payments for the Region’s employees andthat any MP can file a complaint against it if needed."
Additionally, Omar pointed out, "Thesolution to the salaries crisis requires localizing them and ensuring Baghdadfulfills its commitment to pay them as per the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’sdecisions.”
“A regional government delegationshould travel to Baghdad to resolve the issue definitively."
Previously, the KRI relied onindependent funding from oil exports to partially cover salaries. However, adispute with the federal government and Turkiye, through which the oil wasexported, has blocked this income source since March 2023.
A preliminary agreement was laterreached between KRI and Baghdad, allowing Kurdish oil sales to pass through thefederal government in exchange for 12.6 percent of Iraq's public spending.
A court ruling also mandated theKurdish administration to transfer all its oil and non-oil revenues to thefederal government and submit to an audit.
With oil revenues halted,Kurdistan's primary revenue now comes from taxes collected at border crossingswith neighboring countries, including Iran and Turkiye, Iraq's major regionaltrade partners.
