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Iraq's plans to cut salaries face strong backlash

The Iraqi government's decision to reduce government employees’ salaries has caused a major uproar among the political forces.

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Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi meets with former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad, Iraq, May 7, 2020. — Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is seeking to reopen the “social justice” issue regarding state spending on salaries. This means abolishing double salaries, reducing allocations to political prisoners and martyrs and compensation to those who fled to Rafha in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Shiite uprising in southern Iraq.

The first step of the plan began in early June without parliament approval. The plan cuts up to 15% of retirees' salaries as well as the salaries of many of those aforementioned.

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