KRG records withheld salaries as debt owed to employees

2026-10-27T10:12:10+00:00

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has decided to record unpaid public-sector salary entitlements from previous years as an official debt owed to employees, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said on Tuesday.

The decision, taken by the Council of Ministers at the finance ministry's initiative, aims to protect employees' rights and commit the government to repaying the money in the future, ministry spokesman Hunar Jamal told a news conference in Erbil.

Jamal also said the ministry remains fully committed to sending payroll lists and its monthly trial balance to the federal Finance Ministry in Baghdad, which is responsible for transferring the salary funding. "Funding the salaries and setting the date for their transfer are up to the federal Finance Ministry, and there are no problems on our side preventing distribution."

Salaries in the Kurdistan Region have long been at the center of budget disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. The KRG said this month that federal transfers had covered only 46 of the 144 monthly payrolls owed to its employees and beneficiaries between 2014 and 2025.

KRG records withheld salaries as debt owed to employees

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