ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A group of teachers and public sector employees on Sunday blocked oil trucks from passing through the Sulaimani-Arbat road, protesting the ongoing unpaid salary crisis. The protest aimed to pressure both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government in Baghdad to resolve the issue.
While the demonstrators blocked oil trucks, the road was open for other vehicles. One of the protesting teachers, Farhad Qadir, told Rudaw that the action was taken to “revive the teachers’ boycott” after many had returned to their classrooms due to “severe pressures.”
Qadir emphasized that the striking teachers are demanding the payment of their delayed December 2024 salaries, and “the digitization of our payroll [by Baghdad].”
Deputy chair of the Kurdistan Region’s Teachers Syndicate, Abdulwahid Mohammed, told Rudaw on Sunday that although some schools in Sulaimani and Halabja have resumed classes, “teachers are still concerned about the delayed December salaries,” with further “uncertainty surrounding February salaries as well.”
On February 11, protesting teachers and employees in Sulaimani temporarily suspended a two-week-long hunger strike over unpaid salaries. However, protests are still ongoing, with dozens of primary and highschools in Sulaimani and Halabja still closed. “We may see new actions today to pacify the protests or even end them,” Abdulwahid said.
Efforts by both the federal government and the KRG to address the salary crisis resulted in a new agreement in early February regarding the payment of Erbil’s share in the 2025 federal budget.
The Kurdistan Region’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani expressed optimism on February 9, stating that he believed the civil servants’ salary crisis would be resolved soon, with Baghdad agreeing to pay KRG public employees their 2025 salaries without interruption under the new deal.
