Iraqi Kurdistan Legislature Passes Controversial Salary, Pension Reform Bill - Reports

Iraqi Kurdistan Legislature Passes Controversial Salary, Pension Reform Bill - Reports

The parliament of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq voted on Thursday in favor of a reform package bill, which has sparked major controversy in the autonomy and is largely viewed as a legal way for high-ranking officials to set their own salaries and cut the civil sector wages, Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) The parliament of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq voted on Thursday in favor of a reform package bill, which has sparked major controversy in the autonomy and is largely viewed as a legal way for high-ranking officials to set their own salaries and cut the civil sector wages, Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported.

The Kurdistan parliament initially passed a similar bill in February of 2018, but it never entered into force due to massive rallies that broke out in the autonomous region, with protesters accusing lawmakers of passing the bill for their own financial benefits.

According to the news portal, the second parliamentary reading of the bill dubbed "Reform of Pensions, Salaries, Allowances, Grants and other Benefits," started on Sunday and fueled heated debates among the lawmakers and representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The proponents of the reform claim it will provide more fairness and transparency concerning the reorganization of public sector salaries and pensions by eliminating the so-called ghost employees people who are on an employer's payroll, but do not actually work, allowing fraudster companies to generate more illegal paychecks as well as help the government to redeem millions of Dollars by prohibiting more than one salary.

The bill also secures payment entitlements allocated to "families of martyrs," halves senior officials' incomes and prevents special rank retirement, including for ministers and deputy ministers among others.