Salary delays spark protests across Iraqi universities
Shafaq News- Baghdad
University employees and academics staged coordinated protests across Iraq on Wednesday over delayed salaries, urging the government to ensure timely monthly payments and warning they could escalate their campaign with an open-ended sit-in if their demands are ignored.
Shafaq News correspondent reported demonstrations at the universities of Basrah, Diyala, Kirkuk, Kufa, and Babylon, as well as several universities in Baghdad, with protesters calling for the immediate release of salaries and outstanding financial entitlements.
At the University of Diyala, employees told Shafaq News that salaries, once paid early each month, have been arriving with increasing delays, placing growing financial pressure on staff who depend on them to cover rent, loan repayments, and other living expenses. They added that the uncertainty has disrupted household budgets, forcing some workers to borrow money to meet basic needs.
In Kirkuk, demonstrators also urged the government to recognize academic qualifications in accordance with existing regulations and protect the rights of employees in academic institutions, describing the protest as peaceful.
