KRG to Take Decisive Action Amid Ongoing Salary Dispute with Baghdad
“The meeting is expected to shape the direction of the next steps in dialogue with Baghdad,” the source said. “There is a possibility that the salary issue may become a central part of a broader negotiation effort — or that the KRG might consider taking a new independent step on the matter.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers is expected to take a decisive step on the issue of public sector salaries, as tensions persist with the federal government in Baghdad, a source told Kurdistan24 on Wednesday.
According to the source, the Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, is set to convene on Wednesday to discuss the payment crisis affecting Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees. A key topic of the meeting will be the next course of action regarding negotiations with Baghdad.
“The meeting is expected to shape the direction of the next steps in dialogue with Baghdad,” the source said. “There is a possibility that the salary issue may become a central part of a broader negotiation effort — or that the KRG might consider taking a new independent step on the matter.”
Despite the KRG fulfilling its obligations, including regularly submitting monthly salary lists, budget expenditures, and 50% of its non-oil revenues to the federal government, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has not yet sent the salaries for May, and the fate of June’s payments remains uncertain.
The KRG Ministry of Finance and the government spokesperson have both stressed that Erbil has complied with all requirements stipulated by Baghdad. However, due to repeated violations of agreements and delays in authorization, the federal government has failed to release the funds.
Prime Minister Barzani had previously accused Baghdad of using salaries as a political tool, stating that withholding public servants' wages was a form of collective punishment against the people of the Kurdistan Region.
