Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Finance Ministry has ordered the retroactive suspension of a 150,000-dinar ($115) professional allowance for state employees registered as full-time caregivers, effective June 30, 2024.

In a directive to the Education Ministry, uncovered on Saturday, Finance said government employees granted caregiver status are entitled only to their basic salary and fixed allowances, limited to academic degree and marital and child benefits.

Law No. 38 of 2013 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs designates full-time caregivers to assist persons with severe disabilities. Approved employees receive paid leave with regulated entitlements.

No implementation mechanism has been announced.

Iraq continues to operate under the “1/12 spending rule” due to the absence of an approved federal budget, limiting monthly expenditures to one-twelfth of the previous year’s operational spending and restricting broader allocations beyond salaries and pensions.

Iraq’s budget paralysis: How the 1/12 rule reduced state finances to salary payments