Reforms fall short: Iraq teachers to stage schoolsit-in

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Teachers' Union said on Tuesday it will hold a sit-in later this week, rejecting what it described as an “insufficient” government response to recent protests over pay and employment conditions.

In a statement, the Union revealed the action will take place during school hours on Thursday and is intended to keep demonstrations within the education sector. The announcement followed a cabinet session earlier, attended by the Union’s president, where ministers approved a package of measures addressing teachers’ demands.

The Union called on parliament to convene an emergency session to review legislation affecting educators, including proposed amendments to Iraq’s salary scale law.

Lawmakers and education representatives criticized the cabinet’s response. Haider al-Salami, head of the Ana Al-Iraq (I Am Iraq) parliamentary bloc, told Shafaq News, “Except for a study on counting unpaid service years for promotions—which excludes retirement—there was nothing new.”

In Basra, education official Safaa al-Maliki rejected the cabinet’s proposals outright, saying they “failed to address key demands” raised in recent demonstrations.

Since the start of the week, teachers across central and southern Iraq have staged protests calling for salary increases, land distribution, and wider reforms in the education sector.