AL-MARSOUMI WARNS: CENTRAL BANK DECISIONS THREATEN MORE THAN 50,000 WORKERS WITH LOSSES AND MASS LAYOFFS
Iraqi economic analyst Nabil Al-Marsoumi warned of serious financial repercussions that could affect local companies contracted with oil licensing companies, stressing that more than 200 Iraqi companies employing more than 50,000 workers are now threatened with large losses that could lead to the dismissal of large numbers of their employees.
Al-Marsoumi explained in a tweet he posted on his Facebook page that these risks came as a result of the Central Bank of Iraq’s directive not to disburse dollar transfers to those companies in dollars, and obliging them to convert them to dinars according to the official rate, even though their contracts were concluded in dollars.
He pointed out that the losses result from the large difference between the official and parallel exchange rates of the dollar against the dinar, noting that companies’ contracts and operating expenses are done in dollars, which exacerbates the financial burdens and threatens the continuity of their work.
It is noted that companies transfer their employees’ dues in dollars, while banks disburse them in Iraqi dinars at the official rate of 131,000 dinars, even though the dollar’s price in the market exceeds 145,000 dinars, which has sparked widespread objections from employees regarding this procedure.