Shafaq News- Diyala

Employees hired under Diyala’s 7,000-job contract program protested on Thursday outside the Provincial Council headquarters in central Baquba, demanding payment of salaries that have been delayed for eight months.

Protester Ali al-Shammari told Shafaq News that the workers were approaching their ninth month without pay, despite assurances from relevant authorities that funding for the contracts had been secured. “Most of us left our previous jobs and began working in government departments. We have maintained our attendance and carried out our assigned duties, but we have not received our financial entitlements,” al-Shammari said, adding that the delays had pushed many workers into debt and made it difficult to cover household expenses and daily transportation costs.

The protesters urged the Iraqi government and Diyala’s Provincial Council to intervene urgently, resolve the procedures holding up the payments, and set a clear date for disbursing the accumulated salaries.

Mudher Mohammed Saleh, Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s financial and economic adviser, told Shafaq News that the government assures the public employees that their salaries remain secure despite the ongoing Strait of Hormuz closure and a halt in Iraqi oil exports.

He attributed the available liquidity to non-oil revenues and financial tools, as well as Baghdad’s ability to reprioritize spending, with salaries remaining a top spending priority.

Turning to alternative oil export routes, including the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline and planned expansions to the north and west, he argued that expanding these routes could help recover part of the revenue lost from disruptions to southern exports and reduce Iraq’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed