Striking teachers plan protest despite government promises

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Striking teachers have called for a large protest on Monday despite the Kurdish government agreeing to meet some of their demands. Several education directorates on Sunday urged educators to end their strike action in provinces where students have yet to enter a classroom this school year.

The majority of schools in the provinces of Sulaimani and Halabja and the administrations of Garmiyan, Raparin, and Koya have yet to open their doors for the new academic year which began in September 2023, as teachers are on strike over unpaid wages by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

In addition to demanding their salaries on time, teachers have also demanded the KRG hand out promotions where due and offer contracts to non-contract teachers.

The KRG’s Ministry of Education said on Sunday that it has agreed to hand out promotions “within the legal framework” and to sign contracts with teachers who are working without them “once the federal budget is amended and the financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region are sent.”

Following the announcement from the ministry, the education directorates of Sulaimani, Halabja, Garmiyan, and Raparin, in separate statements, urged teachers to return to the classrooms.

The directorates expressed their support for the teachers’ “rightful and legal demands,” but called on them to end the strikes “for the sake of our children’s future and to not to waste their academic year.”

Mistrustful of the KRG’s promises, teachers and civil servants released a statement announcing that they will continue their strike and called for large demonstrations on Monday.

They said that the KRG has in the past made similar promises in an effort to bring an end to previous work stoppages, but failed to follow through once the strikes were over.

“Conditionalizing the implementation of our demands and linking them to an uncertain amendment to the Iraqi budget law is evading their implementation. We do not believe that this government intends to solve the problems. Because the Region’s domestic revenue is much higher than the amount needed for our demands, the KRG should have decided to implement our demands immediately,” read the statement.

The frequent delay in paying salaries, which has been an issue for the cash-strapped KRG for nearly a decade, has made life difficult for civil servants, many of whom have no other source of income.

A KRG delegation, headed by Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab, arrived in Baghdad on Saturday and met with Iraqi government officials to discuss amending the federal budget in a way that guarantees Kurdish civil servants receive their salaries on time.

Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani described the discussions in Baghdad as “positive” and expressed hope that the strike will end soon.

“We have been in contact with the teachers, and we understand their protests. They are entitled to ask for their rights… I believe the decision [of the education ministry] is a good call. I hope it leads to the school doors being opened and our children are no longer denied an education,” Talabani told reporters in Sulaimani on Sunday.

The teacher strikes began in September after public servants went unpaid for around 90 days. Baghdad agreed to loan Erbil 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars in mid-September to cover the salaries for three months. All three installments of the loan have been sent to Erbil, and the KRG is seeking another loan as it has failed to pay the salaries for the last three months of 2023.

The KRG has repeatedly claimed that it needs over 900 billion dinars per month to cover its payroll, but with its oil exports through Turkey halted since March, it does not have the funds.

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