Shafak News / The Federal Ministry of Finance confirmed, on Saturday evening, that work will continue with the Kurdistan Regional delegation since the morning until late at night to find solutions to the issue of the salaries of the region’s employees and retirees.
A statement from the Ministry of Finance and response to Shafak News Agency said that “Minister Taif Sami participated in all the meetings held that witnessed extensive discussions in order to reach fair solutions that guarantee the rights of all citizens, in accordance with the legal and financial controls in force. The minister also attended the meeting with the delegation of the region, headed by Fouad Hussein, and in the presence of the Minister of Finance of the region, his advanced staff and employees, as well as the presence of the advanced staff from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The statement quoted the minister as stressing after the end of the meeting the need to “hold a meeting at the Ministry of Finance in order to directly audit and confirm the annual and monthly lists and costs and make the required amendment as soon as possible.”
The Ministry of Finance added that “work is underway with the joint committees headed by the minister and the technical committees of both parties from the morning until late this night for the purpose of checking and matching the data of civil retirees’ salaries, contracts and social protection so that we can launch them properly.”
The Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan Regional Government said earlier in the day that its technical teams, and the others of the Federal Ministry of Finance, are close to ending their work.
The delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government with the Federal Ministry of Finance continues their meetings in the capital Baghdad for the second day in a row.
In this regard, the Kurdistan Finance said in today’s statement that the meetings of the technical teams between the two ministries are continuing in order to solve technical problems, and the work is expected to be completed as soon as possible.
A meeting was held on Friday at the house of Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, where the delegation of the regional government consists of about 20 people headed by the Kurdistan Finance Minister with the participation of many directors general in the ministry, to discuss the salary of December 2024 and the salaries of 2025.
The Minister of Finance and Economy in the Kurdistan Region, Awat Sheikh Janab, confirmed on Friday that the meeting in Baghdad was positive about the salaries of employees, and we hope to resolve the case on Sunday.
Janab said in an interview with journalists, with the participation of Shafaq News Agency, that “the atmosphere of the meeting in Baghdad was very positive and we discussed the issue of employees’ salaries and schedules,” adding that “we hope to end the work and the financing of salaries on Sunday (February 2).”
The roots of the salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region date back to 2014, when the differences between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government escalated regarding the management of the two budget oil files, in addition to the consequences of the war on ISIS and the decline in oil prices and the subsequent corona pandemic in the world.
Baghdad stopped sending the region’s share of the budget, and the regional government responded by exporting oil independently, and this conflict led to disruption in the mechanisms of paying salaries, starting a series of delays and financial accumulations.
Since that time, there have been many attempts to find compromises between the two parties, most notably the financial agreements that provided for the disbursement of the region’s share of the budget in exchange for its commitment to export specific quantities of oil, although these agreements have not been fully implemented due to continued lack of trust and political differences between the two sides.
As the differences continue, citizens in the region bear the greatest burden, as calls have recently increased from political and economic activists for the need to implement the decisions of the Federal Court, which affirmed the right of citizens to receive their salaries without any delay, while the biggest challenge remains to find a final solution that ensures the sustainability of the payment of salaries and the removal of its file from politicization.
