Al-Sulaymaniyah protest: Census workers demand overdue payments

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, census enumerators in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, protested outside the Iraqi Parliament office, demanding overdue wages after months of payment delays.

Sarud Salam, a representative of the demonstrators, urged lawmakers to intervene. “We call on Parliament and its representatives in Al-Sulaymaniyah to convey our demands to the relevant authorities,” he told Shafaq News.

“The Iraqi Ministry of Planning had contracted the enumerators for two months, offering a monthly wage of 250,000 IQD (approximately $170),” Salam noted, highlighting that they received November’s salary, but December’s payments remain outstanding.

Protesters accused the Iraqi government of unfair treatment, pointing out that “more than 27,000 enumerators in the Kurdistan Region have yet to be paid, while their counterparts in other provinces have received their wages.” They warned of escalating demonstrations if authorities fail to address their concerns.

Al-Sulaymaniyah, like other areas in Iraqi Kurdistan, is grappling with a deepening financial crisis due to chronic salary delays. Despite an Erbil-Baghdad agreement on oil exports and Kurdistan’s share in Iraq’s recently approved budget, implementation remains stalled, prolonging the crisis.