Kurdistan Retirees Union Calls for urgent action on salary disbursement
Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Retirees Union urged Baghdad and Erbil governments to coordinate to solve the salary disbursement issue.
On Wednesday, 21/2/2024, the Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in Iraq, decided to obligate both Prime Ministers Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and Masrour Barzani to localize the salaries of employees and workers in the public sector at federal banks.
In a press conference, Sadiq Osman, the Union's spokesman, called the Iraqi and Kurdish cabinets to implement the decisions from the Iraqi Federal Court regarding paying all the financial entitlements of the Kurdish general sector employees.
Osman stressed "Baghdad's responsibility to uphold the rights of citizens in Kurdistan," cautioning against using "political conflicts as excuses to delay solving this problem and prioritize the well-being of retirees."
The spokesperson pointed out that the delay in February's salary "was just one aspect of the problem since there are other outstanding salary issues and challenges with distribution mechanisms."
Today, KRG stated that the Federal Ministry of Finance is prepared to pay almost half of the salaries after a month of delay.
KRG's spokesperson, Peshawa Hawramani, stated that "The Federal Ministry of Finance is prepared to pay only 59% of Kurdistan's salaries after a month of delay, and this does not include the salaries of Peshmerga, martyrs, and a large portion of the employees, in order to create strife, discrimination, and humiliation of Kurdistan employees."
He pointed out that "KRG, especially Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, is working to solve the problem of salaries for all employees in the Kurdistan Region. If the federal Finance Ministry is sincere, they should distribute the salaries because we do not accept humiliation and discrimination among our employees."
Horamani concluded, "We defend the rights of all the people of the Kurdistan Region and reject the violation of our constitutional rights and the policy of starvation in any form."
KRG's Council of Ministers had called on the Federal Ministry of Finance in Baghdad to send the dues of salary recipients to the Ministry of Finance and Economy in the Region in full and without discrimination.
The Court's new decision has sparked anger and criticism among Kurdish politicians, with some claiming that the decision is unconstitutional and politically motivated and that it undermines the autonomy and finances of the Kurdistan Region.
Last January, the Iraqi government decided to allocate 618 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Regional Government. However, KRG said it requires over 900 billion dinars (about $686 million) monthly to meet its payroll obligations.
The suspension of Kurdistan oil exports through Turkiye since March 2023, the KRG is facing financial constraints.
In principle, Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad agreed that Kurdish oil sales would be channeled through the federal government. As part of this arrangement, Iraqi Kurdistan is allocated 12.6 percent of the federal budget.
In September 2023, Erbil and Baghdad reached an agreement under which the federal government agreed to provide a loan of 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars in three installments of 700 billion dinars each (about $534 million) to cover salaries for the months of September, October, and November, but KRG stated that it needs an additional 325 billion dinars (around $216.5 million) to bridge the remaining deficit.
The delay in sending salaries sparked anger in the Kurdish community, where thousands regularly participate in demonstrations voicing their grievances over unpaid civil service salaries, attributing the issue to Baghdad.
