Criticism mounts in Iraqi Kurdistan over unpaid teacher salaries
Teachers say the Kurdish government is not paying on time and want their salaries to come from Baghdad, but Kurdish authorities point to a budget dispute with the federal government.
Ferhat is an English teacher at a public school in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region. His salary comes from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), but five months into 2020 he has only been paid his monthly salary twice. Payment problems over the years forced him and other teachers to take on second jobs.
“It’s very difficult for us,” Ferhat told Al-Monitor. “Each one of us has to work after school to live.”
The issue with the salaries stems from a budget dispute involving oil between the KRG and the federal government in Baghdad. On Saturday, hundreds of teachers and other government employees protested in the Kurdistan Region city of Dahuk demanding their salaries be paid.
Many were arrested. Al-Monitor changed the names of Ferhat and other teachers who were interviewed for their safety.
