BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi government says it has released the salaries of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) civil servants, including those of the Peshmerga.
Baghdad was only expected to send the salaries of health and education employees, but it later emerged the federal government will send an installment for all Kurdish civil employees.
The Kurdistan Region needs 900 billion Iraqi dinars ($759.4 million) to pay its 1.4 million public servants in full and on time, the KRG finance ministry stated on Sunday, adding that the Iraqi government has sent only about a third of that amount.
The ministry said it will continue to use the existing salary-saving system, a mechanism that slashes up to 40 of the salaries of Kurdish state employees, unless they received a bigger share from the Iraqi government or the financial situation improves.
The office of the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also stated on Monday morning that the federal government will continue the ongoing auditing process of the KRG’s payroll to guarantee it is delivered to “its owners.”
Baghdad was only expected to send the salaries of health and education employees, but it later emerged the federal government will send an installment for all Kurdish civil employees.
The Kurdistan Region needs 900 billion Iraqi dinars ($759.4 million) to pay its 1.4 million public servants in full and on time, the KRG finance ministry stated on Sunday, adding that the Iraqi government has sent only about a third of that amount.
The ministry said it will continue to use the existing salary-saving system, a mechanism that slashes up to 40 of the salaries of Kurdish state employees, unless they received a bigger share from the Iraqi government or the financial situation improves.
The Iraqi government sent out 281.724 billion Iraqi dinars ($237.8 million) for all KRG employees and another 35.815 billion ($30.2 million) for the Peshmerga, a KRG statement said, also confirmed by an official letter sent from the Central Bank of Iraq.
The amount does not cover pension payments, the KRG statement said.
The KRG's share of the Iraqi budget for 2018 is far less than Erbil's expenses, even less than the amount needed to pay the salaries under the salary-saving system, the KRG said, asking the central government to revisit the Iraqi budget law.
The money sent by the Iraqi government, plus revenues from exports of Kurdish oil, will be used to pay the November 2017 salaries, Erbil said.
It, however, promised to make changes to the time table and portions of salaries being paid after taking into consideration the extra cash received from the Iraqi government.
The KRG introduced the salary-saving system in 2016 as part of a raft of austerity measures introduced to tackle the ongoing financial crisis caused by a drop in oil prices and budget cut by the Iraqi government.
Erbil has not been able to pay the salaries on time or in full, causing a series of public sector strikes, especially among teachers, who have virtually shut down public schools in Suleimani and Halabja provinces for months.
Some schools have recently reopened, but others continue to strike unless their salaries released.
Last updated at 6:44 p.m.
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