Peregraf
Employees of the Sulaymaniyah Water Directorate staged a boycott today, refusing to report to work in protest of ongoing delays in salary payments and the suspension of other employment rights.
The protest reflects growing frustration over frozen promotions, delayed salaries, and reduced working hours, as the financial deadlock between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government drags on with no resolution in sight.
“We work only four days a week and have been deprived of many of our rights,” said Samira Fatah, an employee in the directorate’s revenue department. “Our salaries and promotions have been suspended for too long.”
Despite their protest being a direct response to the salary crisis, employees reported being marked as "absent" by supervisors—further fueling dissatisfaction within the department.
The salary delay is part of a broader dispute between Baghdad and Erbil. Although more than a week has passed in May, the KRG has not distributed April salaries, due to a deadlock with the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, which remains unsatisfied with the volume of non-oil revenues being transferred from the Kurdistan Region.
This week, a federal audit delegation returned to the Kurdistan Region to review the KRG's revenue and expenditure records. According to the KRG Ministry of Finance, Minister Awat Sheikh Janab met with a joint team from the Iraqi Federal Board of Supreme Audit and the KRG to prepare a comprehensive report covering the first quarter of 2025.
A source in Baghdad told Peregraf that neither Finance Minister Taif Sami nor Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani has approved the release of April salaries, citing concerns over the accuracy of the KRG’s reported non-oil revenue.
“The federal ministry believes that only half of Kurdistan’s actual non-oil revenues are being transferred to Baghdad,” the source said.
In response, the KRG reaffirmed its full cooperation with the audit team and published the following data on non-oil revenue transfers to the federal treasury:
• January: 51.9 billion IQD
• February: 48.7 billion IQD
• March: 48.2 billion IQD
Meanwhile, additional pressure stems from unresolved issues around oil exports. Prime Minister Al-Sudani is reportedly hesitant to approve salary payments until significant progress is made in resuming oil exports from the Kurdistan Region—exports which have been stalled amid disputes involving international oil companies and legal complications.
Sabah Subhi, Deputy Chairman of Iraq’s Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, confirmed that a KRG delegation is currently in Baghdad to negotiate terms for restarting oil exports. He noted that a technical committee will be formed to work with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil in addressing remaining obstacles.
As negotiations continue, public sector workers across the Kurdistan Region remain in financial uncertainty. The boycott in Sulaymaniyah could signal the beginning of broader labor action if no resolution is reached soon.