Kurdish teachers rally against austerity measures, delayed wages
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—University and school teachers have organized rallies in dozens of cities across the Kurdistan Region this week in protest over reduced salaries and delayed payments to teachers.
The protests started on Sunday, two days before schools in Kurdistan formally start the year. Many teachers have threatened to go on strike.
"Some of the teachers have already decided to go on strike, because they believe it is impossible to teach without receiving wages," head of the teachers union, Ahmed Garmiani, told Rudaw.
In Erbil, university professors accused the teachers union of not widely promoting their rally and gathering a larger group of teachers to reflect the extent of the problem.
The professors said the rallies would continue despite schools and colleges starting classes.
The teachers union said it will do "its utmost" to help the teachers and end the crisis. "The teachers have suffered greatly because of the austerity measures and deserve to improve their living conditions," Garmiani said.
As part of a reform package to revive the economy and offset the colossal budget deficit, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) introduced unprecedented austerity measures that virtually mean suspension of all larger government-backed investment projects and reduction of wages for state employees, whose number is well above 1.3 million.
The KRG has said it will pay back the outstanding amount of the reduced salaries in the future when oil prices rise or the economy stabilizes, something the teachers have rejected.
The protests started on Sunday, two days before schools in Kurdistan formally start the year. Many teachers have threatened to go on strike.
"Some of the teachers have already decided to go on strike, because they believe it is impossible to teach without receiving wages," head of the teachers union, Ahmed Garmiani, told Rudaw.
In Erbil, university professors accused the teachers union of not widely promoting their rally and gathering a larger group of teachers to reflect the extent of the problem.
The professors said the rallies would continue despite schools and colleges starting classes.
The teachers union said it will do "its utmost" to help the teachers and end the crisis. "The teachers have suffered greatly because of the austerity measures and deserve to improve their living conditions," Garmiani said.
As part of a reform package to revive the economy and offset the colossal budget deficit, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) introduced unprecedented austerity measures that virtually mean suspension of all larger government-backed investment projects and reduction of wages for state employees, whose number is well above 1.3 million.
The KRG has said it will pay back the outstanding amount of the reduced salaries in the future when oil prices rise or the economy stabilizes, something the teachers have rejected.