Teachers' Council in Al-Sulaymaniyah optimistic for Supreme Court ruling on promotions

Shafaq News / The dissenting Teachers' Council in al-Sulaymaniya governorate, Kurdistan Region (KRI), stated on Saturday that teachers are hopeful the Federal Supreme Court will settle the issue of promotions and salary increases on Sunday, following its decision regarding the salaries of Regional employees.

Representative of the dissenting teachers, Nozad Omar, stated, "After more than five months of civil struggle and resorting to the Federal Court, both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad have been compelled to grant us our rights, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."

He continued, "These decisions issued by the Supreme Court are not limited to teachers alone but are in the interest of all employees."

Omar said, "Tomorrow, another complaint regarding promotions will be addressed in the Supreme Court, and we hope to achieve another milestone to reclaim our other rights."

Regarding volunteer lecturers, Omar affirmed, "The Teachers' Council supports the legitimate demands of volunteer lecturers to be converted into permanent contracts," adding, "We assure parents and students that teachers will exert their utmost efforts to prevent them from suffering, and we will be in constant communication with the Ministry of Education to take the best steps for the future of our students."

The Supreme Federal Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq) decided on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, to obligate both Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of the Federal Council of Ministers, and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, to localize the salaries of employees and workers in the public sector through federal banks.

The President of the Federal Supreme Court, Judge Jassim Muhammad Abboud Al-Omairi, read out the judgment in the Kurdistan salaries case, where Al-Sudani and Masrour Barzani were obligated to localize the salaries of all employees of government entities in the center and the Region in federal banks outside the Kurdistan Region.

The court also decided to obligate the submission of the monthly budget for the employees of the Region to the Federal Ministry of Finance, with the Regional Council of Ministers being obligated to hand over all oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad.

The ruling emphasized that the decision to localize the salaries of the Region's employees is final and binding.

Notably, salaries are among the main outstanding issues between the Iraqi and the Kurdish governments, along with the oil export and disputed areas.

The two sides regularly meet to discuss these issues, but no radical solution is reached.