The Former Speaker of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Parliament Yousef Mohammed said he will file two more complaints in the Federal Court of Iraq next Sunday against the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
Since 2015, the (KRG) has not paid 15 salaries, and 44 salaries have been distributed following a system of savings and deductions of 21 up to 25%.
"I will file a complaint in the Federal Court next Sunday, February 25, against the illegal suspension of promotions and salary savings, because they are both rights of employees," Yousef Mohammed, the former speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, told KirkukNow.
The Iraqi Federal Court on Wednesday ruled that the failure of the KRG to pay the monthly salaries of the state employees is a violation of their rights and obliged the Iraqi Ministry of Finance to pay their monthly salaries through the federal banks.
"The court decisions do not refer to the illegal suspension of promotions and salary saving, so I consider the complaint necessary," he said. "I think the payment of unpaid salaries should be paid on both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi government," he added.
"Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami should decide to send the salaries of the Kurdistan Regional Government without any debt and the Kurdistan Region should abide by the agreements with Baghdad to reach a solution and put an end to the crisis of salaries, return domestic revenues, including oil and non-oil revenues, to Baghdad without creating any problems.”
On the issue of oil revenues, the Supreme Federal Court ruled that the (KRG) must hand over all the oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad. The court also ruled that both the KRG and the federal government to “nationalize the salaries of all employees of ministries, governorates, and non-ministerial entities, as well as all employees of other entities, retirees, and beneficiaries of the social protection network in government banks, deducting from the Region's share according to the budget law for this year and the coming years.”
The court also mandated the KRG’s finance ministry to submit a breakdown of the monthly budget for the salaries of the Region’s employees to the federal ministry of finance.
Iraq passed a three-year controversial budget bill last June for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, of which the KRG’s share is 12.6%.
The KRG argues it needs over 900 billion Iraqi Dinars IQD (about $600 million) monthly to cover its payroll, but with its oil exports through Turkey halted since March, it does not have sufficient cash funds.
In September, Erbil and Baghdad struck a deal that saw the federal government agree to loan the KRG 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars in three 700-billion-dollar (about $465 million) installments, to cover the salaries of September, October, and November.
With its capital in Erbil, the IKR is home to more than 5 million people out of Iraq's 43 million population. The KRG has been producing over 500,000 barrels of oil per day.
Baghdad-Erbil relations have been fluctuating for years with disagreements over energy resources and disputed territories.
