KRG rejects use of employee salary dispute as political leverage by certain entities in Baghdad: Spokesperson

“We are certain and have every confidence that our demands are legal and true within the framework of the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements, including the wages of its employees.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Monday rejected the issue of employees’ salaries in the region being used as a pressure card by certain political entities in the federal government in Baghdad.

KRG spokesperson Jutyar Adil made the comments in a press conference following a meeting between a KRG delegation and the Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament regarding federal budget affairs.

During the press conference, the KRG spokesperson said the meeting was positive. He revealed that a set of points was reached, including “continued coordination and cooperation between the Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament and the negotiating committee.”

Adil also said that “during the meeting, both sides emphasized that the issue of KRG employees’ wages and coercing the people of Kurdistan should not be used as a pressure card or as political leverage,” pointing out that dialogue and mutual understanding should be the base for resolving issues between Erbil and Baghdad.          

The Kurdish official noted that the KRG is committed to financial and oil agreements with the Federal Government of Iraq that were agreed upon and signed at the end of 2019.

“We are certain and have every confidence that our demands are legal and true within the framework of the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements, including the wages of its employees,” Adil added, calling for legislation of the oil and gas law to tackle the issues between both Erbil and Baghdad regarding the budget.

Last week, a high-level KRG ministerial delegation visited Baghdad and met with senior Iraqi government officials to discuss issues of mutual concern, including Kurdistan’s share of the national budget, and oil and gas affairs.

The visit came after local Iraqi media reported that the federal government had issued a request to its Finance Ministry to stop funding the salaries of KRG employees. The order was reportedly signed by Secretary­­-General of the Iraqi Council of Ministers Hamid al-Ghazi and dated April 16.

After a protracted and near-total breakdown of ties between Erbil and Baghdad following the Kurdistan Region’s September 2017 independence referendum, the governments eventually converged on a range of issues, especially after outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi took office in late 2018.

This included a comprehensive oil agreement that requires Erbil to hand over 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in return for, among other things, securing the region’s allocation of the Iraqi federal budget. The Kurdistan Region has not implemented the oil handover. Oil and budget have been the major source of dispute between the central government and KRG since the region began to export its oil independently.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany