Iraq
Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami (right) speaking to Rudaw in Dubai on February 10, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami on Monday said she was “surprised” by President Abdul Latif Rashid’s decision to file a lawsuit against her and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani over delayed salary payments to the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
“We were surprised by the president’s decision to file a lawsuit, because we have paid the salaries and have nothing left over,” Sami told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in Dubai.
On Sunday, the Iraqi Presidency told Rudaw that Rashid has filed a lawsuit at Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court against Prime Minister Sudani and Finance Minister Sami over the delayed payment of salaries to the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
The suit urges the federal court to issue a “provisional order” to ensure that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees are “paid continuously and on time.” The Iraqi Presidency emphasized that “technical issues should not delay” the salaries of public workers.
Teachers have been protesting outside the United Nations’ office in Sulaimani for nearly two weeks, with some going on a hunger strike for the past 12 days. The protesters’ main demand is the full payment of their December salaries. According to the presidency source, the court’s first hearing on the president’s lawsuit is scheduled for February 14.
The Iraqi federal government and the KRG have held several meetings in recent weeks to discuss amendments to the 2025 federal budget law and resolve the obstacles hindering the payment of civil servant salaries in the Kurdistan Region. The KRG has been working to allocate funds from its share of the federal budget to address the salary shortfalls that have persisted throughout the past year.
The KRG’s hardship notably worsened following the March 2023 suspension of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. The Iraqi legislature recently passed a bill that allows the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, a move expected to boost Iraq’s income and increase the budget allocated to the Kurdistan Region by Baghdad.
“We were surprised by the president’s decision to file a lawsuit, because we have paid the salaries and have nothing left over,” Sami told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in Dubai.
On Sunday, the Iraqi Presidency told Rudaw that Rashid has filed a lawsuit at Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court against Prime Minister Sudani and Finance Minister Sami over the delayed payment of salaries to the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
The suit urges the federal court to issue a “provisional order” to ensure that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees are “paid continuously and on time.” The Iraqi Presidency emphasized that “technical issues should not delay” the salaries of public workers.
Teachers have been protesting outside the United Nations’ office in Sulaimani for nearly two weeks, with some going on a hunger strike for the past 12 days. The protesters’ main demand is the full payment of their December salaries. According to the presidency source, the court’s first hearing on the president’s lawsuit is scheduled for February 14.
The Iraqi federal government and the KRG have held several meetings in recent weeks to discuss amendments to the 2025 federal budget law and resolve the obstacles hindering the payment of civil servant salaries in the Kurdistan Region. The KRG has been working to allocate funds from its share of the federal budget to address the salary shortfalls that have persisted throughout the past year.
The KRG’s hardship notably worsened following the March 2023 suspension of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. The Iraqi legislature recently passed a bill that allows the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, a move expected to boost Iraq’s income and increase the budget allocated to the Kurdistan Region by Baghdad.
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