“On Thursday, the salaries of all the directorates of the health [department] were distributed. Based on the new system, the salaries of the health employees have increased positively,” Saman Barzinji, director general of Erbil’s Health Department, told Rudaw.
Public servants said they will now feel more economically secure as they receive a larger percentage of their salary.
"We knew that it would be adjusted this fast because we have confidence in our regional government. Inshallah it will be better from now on. My salary was decreased from 1,400,000 [Iraqi dinars, $1,181] to 500,000. Now they might cut off 300,000. I will be left with 1,100,000 [$928],” a teacher told Rudaw. “I will no longer have to economize and I will shop freely."
The KRG council of ministers passed a new austerity system on March 28 that would cap salary deductions at 30 percent for high earners and 10 percent for low earners. Anyone receiving under $336 will receive their full payment.
The decision of the government to ease the unpopular austerity measure followed on the heels of payment from Baghdad and protests by health and education employees across the Kurdistan Region.
In Sulaimani and Halabja, the centre of public discontent with the government’s policy, some teachers were still campaigning for a full cancellation of the salary-saving system as late as Wednesday. While the strikes appear to have ended for now, some teachers issued a warning to the government.
Renas Ali, a teacher and a strike organizer from Halabja, shared images on his Facebook account of hundreds rallying in his home city, raising symbolic red cards against the KRG’s policies.
"The thing that calls itself the Kurdistan Regional Government should not deceive the people and remember this day 30 days from now," he wrote on Thursday.
Public sector employees have demanded the government pay their salaries on time – every 30 days – after months of delays and reductions in their wages.
Another teacher in Erbil expressed faith in the government that they would institute the reformed system quickly. “There is lots of change. [My salary] was cut by 65 percent, now I have got back about 40 percent. I could say this salary is as much as two salaries from before," the teacher explained.
Classes will resume this week as teachers end their strike action.
Health workers also anticipate an improvement in their financial situation with increased wage payments.
"I would receive 450,000 [Iraqi dinars, $380] of my salary when it was cut. Now with the new system I receive 730,000 [$616]. Of course this will affect me a lot and the economic situation of employees in general will get better," a health ministry employee told Rudaw.
The KRG introduced the unpopular salary saving system in 2016 following a crippling financial crisis due to the war with ISIS, Iraqi government cutting its share of the budget, and a decrease in oil prices.
