MESOP : THE WHOLE KURDISTAN REGION GOES ON STRIKE (South Kurdistan KRG)

PROTESTS GROWING IN THE REGION AS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES GO ON STRIKE – Protests growing in the region as government employees go on strike

SULAIMANI – NRT – 8 Feb 2016 Strikes in the Kurdistan Region are growing as public employees held peaceful demonstrations in cities and towns on Monday against a plan by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to cut salaries as part of austerity measures.

NRT correspondents across the region reported police and traffic officers, doctors and educators held protests in Erbil, Sulaimani, Chamchamal, Halabja, Koya, Qaladze and Raniya over tactics to solve the worsening economic crisis.

Herish Qadir, NRT correspondent in Erbil, said doctors from Erbil’s Pediatric Hospital announced a strike on Monday, joining medical professionals across the region. Hospital staff in Sulaimani threatened to shut down emergency services in the city if the government refuses to reverse its decision to cut salaries, already months late.Similarly, instructors and professors from Sulaimani University and Salahaddin University in Erbil went on strike and held peaceful demonstrations.

Dr. Rebaz Khursheed Mohammed was at the demonstration in Sulaimani on Monday and told NRT English he faces up to a 70 percent salary cut. Mohammed teaches at Sulaimani University’s law school and added that from a legal perspective, the salary cuts are considered could be considered unlawful.

“From a legal view, the cuts are illegal because the salaries are regulated through laws passed by parliament, and only parliament can amend them,” he said. “So if the [government] cuts salaries, it’s considered a legal amendment, and therefore it’s null because of [sic] lack of legal authority.”

KRG officials announced the measure to cut salaries on February 3, but said Peshmerga and employees from the Ministry of the Interior would be exempt.Government salaries have been plagued by chronic delays since 2014 and Kurdish authorities say they are struggling to catch up on payments. Under the KRG plan, salaries for September, October, November and December 2015 will be credited and paid out after the region emerges from the financial crisis.

(NRT