Payday at last: Erbil workers collect salaries after 85-day delay
Shafaq News – Erbil
Employees and salary recipients in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, flocked to banks and ATMs on Saturday to collect their long-delayed wages, ending an 85-day wait caused by a protracted financial dispute between Baghdad and Erbil.
“Even though we received our salaries today and there’s talk of resolving financial disputes, people are still deeply worried,” said Abdullah, a public sector employee. “The public feels used as leverage in political tug-of-wars, and that only hurts citizens and the Regional economy.”
Another employee, Karwan, told Shafaq News that the salary will barely cover debts incurred during the delay. “Most of us borrowed money or even sold household items to survive. This payment is just a lifeline, not a revival of economic life.”
Public sector workers had gone nearly three months without pay as Baghdad and Erbil remained at odds over revenue sharing. While the federal government has demanded full transparency and handover of oil and non-oil revenues from the Kurdistan Region, Erbil accused Baghdad of politicizing the issue and obstructing payments.
In response, Baghdad had introduced a temporary system of conditional financial advances after oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkiye’s Ceyhan port were halted. The situation saw a shift in February when Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that salaries must be disbursed directly, paving the way for partial relief.
