Educators, administrative staff and retired teachers assembled on Sunday at the Education Ministry in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî), Iraqi Kurdistan, to protest delayed salary disbursements for teachers and precarious job conditions for adjunct lecturers. The large-scale demonstrations were sparked by an appeal from Education Minister Alan Hamah Saeed urging educators to end their strike and return to their duties, a plea met with defiance.
Osman Gulpi, representing the protesters, stated that the strike action and demonstrations were aimed at securing basic living standards for educators compromised under delayed and insufficient salaries. “We need financial support for transportation, communication, clothing, and other essential necessities to fulfil our daily professional responsibilities. Furthermore, these funds are indispensable for the well-being of our families and the everyday needs of our children,” Gulpi explained.
Central to the demands of the protesters are the immediate disbursement of overdue salaries, the implementation of long-standing professional incentives and salary increments pending for over nine years, and the provision of permanent employment for adjunct lecturers. Despite the Minister’s call to return to classrooms and schools, the demonstrators remained steadfast, gathering in Sulaymaniyah’s central square to make their demands known.
The ongoing struggle over delayed salary payments and job security in Sulaymaniyah mirrors a broader issue in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Protests earlier in September saw thousands in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially in Duhok (Dihok), voicing grievances over unpaid public sector salaries, and squarely blaming the federal government in Baghdad. Despite a recent release of funds by Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government argued that the allocated amount fell significantly short of the monthly requirement.
