Kurdistan Teachers Union: Salaries KRI employees should not be collateral in Baghdad- Erbil oil dispute

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Berhem Mustafa, a member of the Kurdistan Teachers Union secretariat, highlighted the plight of employees in the Kurdistan Region whose salaries have become entangled in the region's oil disputes and financial challenges.

In a post shared on his Facebook account and reported by Shafaq News Agency, saying, "all indications suggest that the salaried individuals in the Kurdistan Region are paying the price for the conflict between the central government and the Kurdistan Region."

Mustafa emphasized that the employees in the region have become "hostages" to the complexities surrounding oil revenues, the SOMO report, he added, “the region's non-compliance with delivering non-oil and local revenues, and opening a bank account affiliated with the central government, which he described as a long game."

He further elaborated on the Kurdistan Regional Government's vulnerable position in the conflict, noting that, "the position of the Kurdistan Regional Government in this conflict is weak, and the central government is acting according to the court's decision."

Mustafa criticized Baghdad's approach of leveraging the salaries of Kurdistan Regional Government employees as a means of exerting pressure, deeming it unethical. He suggested that there are alternative methods for Baghdad to hold the regional authorities accountable without jeopardizing the livelihoods of employees.

Expressing concern for the worsening situation in 2024 if international intervention is lacking, Mustafa warned of the escalating challenges faced by employees in the region.

Notably, The Federal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq) had decided on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, to oblige both Mohamed Shia' Al-Sudani, the head of the federal cabinet, and Masrour Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to domicile the salaries of employees and public sector workers at federal banks