Kurdish lawmaker: Salary crisis nearing resolution as Baghdad–Erbil deal advances

Shafaq News

11 hours ago

Shafaq News – al-Sulaymaniyah
Former Iraqi parliamentarian Ala Talabani said on Sunday that the long-running salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region stems from both political tensions and a nationwide liquidity crunch, but emphasized that a breakthrough agreement between Baghdad and Erbil is now within reach.
Speaking at a press conference, Talabani, a senior figure in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the dispute over civil servant salaries in the Region has clear political dimensions in addition to being tied to Iraq's worsening cash flow problems. 'The economic situation in Iraq is under tremendous strain due to US sanctions,' she noted, adding that the liquidity crisis has even affected the federal government's ability to pay salaries for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
She confirmed that negotiations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government are ongoing, with senior officials holding regular meetings aimed at implementing the federal budget law and rulings from the Federal Supreme Court. 'The salary delays have caused serious harm to citizens and worsened their living conditions,' Talabani said.
With parliamentary elections approaching, she warned against politicizing the salary issue for electoral gain. 'This file must not become a political tool,' she stated, while expressing cautious optimism. 'I believe an agreement between Erbil and Baghdad is imminent—there is no viable alternative.'
Talabani voiced support for salary domicilization—a system that would require government employees in the Kurdistan Region to receive their wages via bank transfers under federal oversight—but noted that it remains unclear whether both major Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK, support the measure. 'According to the Federal Court's ruling, the agreement must be implemented and salaries should be paid monthly through domicilization,' she said.
She concluded by emphasizing that the only viable solution lies in a formal agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, warning that continued delays would deepen public hardship. 'This issue must be resolved within a legal and constitutional framework—away from political maneuvering,' she said.
Earlier in the day, PUK leader Ziyad Jabbar told Shafaq News that his party supports any deal that could resolve the salary crisis. He attributed the prolonged impasse to the lack of a clear and binding agreement between the two governments.