The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court in February transferred the responsibility of paying Kurdistan Region’s salaries from Erbil to Baghdad, and instructed the KRG and the federal government to “localize” the salaries of the Region’s employees.
Sulaimani’s striking teachers and other public service employees, who have not received salaries for over 50 days, continued their protests over unpaid wages, chanting “No to My Account,” in reference to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) initiative to digitize the banking sector.
A large number of security forces were deployed and blocked the protesters from marching towards Dabashan. Several protesters were detained.
“Teachers are not ISIS [Islamic State]. Why do you need all those forces?” the protesters chanted repeatedly.
The council of striking teachers and civil servants on Thursday called on the PUK to stop the implementation of “My Account” in Sulaimani and other parts of southern Kurdistan Region, and threatened to take the protests to Dabashan if the ruling party fails to do so before March 25.
“We very blatantly and clearly stress that we reject the imposed My Account, because we believe that this system, like the independent economy, only serves the ruling families and will lead to further longevity and self-imposition of plunderers,” said Adel Hassan, a representative of the teachers, during a press conference on Thursday.
At least three teachers were arrested in Garmiyan administration’s Kalar on Monday as they tried to join the protests in Sulaimani.
The KRG launched the “My Account” initiative in October. As part of this project, civil servants would see their salaries deposited into their bank accounts rather than receiving cash.
As the government’s inability to pay its employees drags on for another month, civil servants from a variety of sectors went on strike on Sunday in multiple areas in southern Kurdistan Region - Sulaimani and Halabja provinces, Raparin and Garmiyan administrations, and Koya and Chamchamal districts.
Iraq’s finance ministry has transferred around 560 billion dinars to the KRG’s bank account since March 11 to pay February salaries of the Region’s employees, excluding the security forces. The KRG has yet to distribute the wages, calling on Baghdad to send the full payment.
Kurdistan Region civil servants were only paid for nine months in 2023 and since the start of the new year have only been paid their salaries for January.
