Shafaq News– Erbil

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to press Iraq’s next federal government to fund seven months of unpaid public-sector salaries accumulated over the past three years.

KRG spokesman Peshawa Hawramani told reporters that Erbil would pursue the issue within the framework of the Region’s overall share of the federal budget, rather than reopening monthly salary negotiations.

Referring to Iraq’s latest general population census, which saw an increase in the Kurdish population, Hawramani argued that Kurdistan’s budget entitlement now stands at 14% of federal spending, while transfers received so far have fallen short of the Region’s constitutional and legal share.

Disputes over salaries have intensified since March 2023, when Kurdistan’s oil exports through Turkiye’s Ceyhan port were halted following an international arbitration ruling in favor of Baghdad. The federal government subsequently tied salary payments to the transfer of oil revenues and classified funds sent to the Region as temporary “advances” rather than regular budget allocations, according to statements issued at the time by Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Oil flows through Ceyhan then resumed in late September 2025 under a federal–Regional arrangement that was later extended toward the end of the year. Hawramani said the current export agreement was originally set for three months and would renew automatically unless either side raises objections.

Under the current revenue-sharing terms, the KRG is required to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad in exchange for financial entitlements, primarily salaries. The Kurdish government, however, says it has received only about 41% of what it is owed over the past three years, describing the shortfall as an “investment blockade” that has deepened fiscal strain across the Region.

The federal government has not commented on Hawramani’s remarks.

Read more: Into 2026, Baghdad and Erbil face the same disputes—with higher stakes