Continuing strikes and looming crises in Iraq

• Erbil demonstration 11-29-2023

On the other hand, during the demonstration, the demonstrators raised banners calling on the Investment Authority to intervene directly and quickly to solve this crisis and remove the harm from them, since these companies have obtained approval to work on these projects through the Investment Authority and other government institutions. Therefore, they must guarantee the rights of citizens from any fraud or negligence in any of the implemented projects.

Governmentally, according to the observers’ report, no official statement or administrative procedures were issued to the company responsible for the construction work. As for security, there were no security forces except for the forces responsible for protecting the Council of Ministers gate, noting that these forces did not take any action against the demonstrators and their role was limited to protecting the Council gate without coming into contact with the demonstrators. As for the media, the presence of media channels was limited to the NRT media channel, in addition to social media.

Demonstration in the Sulaymaniyah capital (Sharzur district) 11-29-2023

The serious thing to note is that these demonstrations began more than 72 days ago due to the delay in the arrival of the Kurdistan Region’s benefits from Baghdad, while teachers and lecturers in Sulaymaniyah have been organizing their demonstrations continuously since announcing their strike last September. Since the beginning of the school year in the Kurdistan Region until now, teaching staff in the Sulaymaniyah and Halabja governorates have been boycotting official work hours and refusing to resume work unless the regional government responds to their demands, which include distributing monthly salaries on time and resuming the system of employee promotions that has been suspended for more than 8 years. The fate of the saved salaries and salaries for the last three months of the current year was decided, in addition to appointing teachers who were appointed under contract years ago to permanent staff.

One of the demonstrators pointed out that employee salaries have become a political pressure card more than a technical or economic one, and we will not accept that our source of livelihood and life be a tool for political bargaining. It is worth noting that, so far, there has been no clear agreement between the regional government and the Baghdad government regarding the mechanism for disbursing salaries to employees in the region or how to send financial dues to the region.

Governmentally, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Qubad Talabani, indicated that the regional government has fulfilled all its obligations, and the federal government must follow suit by implementing its obligations and sending Kurdistan’s share of the country’s general financial budget. Now the arrival of the money is delayed for various reasons. As for security, the security forces were present during the demonstration. They did not intervene in any way to end the demonstration or organize it, and their work was limited to monitoring and monitoring the demonstration in anticipation of any acts of violence.

Baghdad demonstration 21-26-2023

the authority to distribute these salaries. Hundreds of teaching and learning staff demonstrated from the disputed areas in Tahrir Square, in the center of the capital, Baghdad.

 The demonstration began by inviting a segment of protesting teachers and employees in the Kurdistan region, on Saturday, 11-25-2023, and community organizations to support them in their protests planned to be held in Tahrir Square in the center of the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday, 11-26-2023. The protesters mentioned in a statement, calling for them to attend and support the protest

The monitoring team indicated that teachers, who live outside the Kurdistan region, organized a demonstration in Tahrir Square, in the capital, Baghdad. The demonstrators also demanded that their late salaries be paid and transferred from the region to the central government. The demonstrators raised many banners, including demands for the necessity of linking all Kurdish school staff to the General Directorate of the Federal Ministry of Education.

One of the demonstrators said: We are approximately 2,000 teachers, teachers, and employees. We headed from the Kurdistan region towards the capital, Baghdad. To demand our financial salaries, but Kirkuk security control prevented us from entering.” However, we were approved to enter in the end, and the security forces indicated that they were responsible for protecting the demonstrators and that there would be no kind of violence against the demonstrators. Among other demands that he called for with the demonstrators, an appropriate mechanism was put in place to return the amounts deducted from the salaries of teachers and employees since 2014 under what is called compulsory savings, which is estimated at 33 full salaries for each teacher and employee, and to implement the law of the Iraqi National Council regarding the salaries of retirees and compensation for those affected.

Governmentally, no governmental statement was issued by either the regional government or the Baghdad government regarding the demands of the demonstrators. As for security, the presence of security forces was monitored during the demonstration, and their work was limited to protecting and organizing the demonstration without interfering with it. As for the media, it was noted that there are several media channels in addition to social media.

Baghdad demonstrations 11-24-2023

The demonstrators pointed out that this decision is a clear infringement on their agricultural lands and homes near the new “Al-Doura-Youssefiya” highway. This is rejected by the people of the region. The demonstrators threatened the decision of the Minister of Construction and Housing - Benkin Rekani - and demanded that he reverse this decision because of its impact on citizens in the region. They will escalate if this decision is not reversed.

Governmentally, the Ministry of Housing did not issue any official response regarding the demonstrations and the demands of the demonstrators, but security-wise, no member of the security forces was spotted in the area. As for the media, the issue was limited to covering events on social media pages.

Reasons for the demonstration/demands of the demonstrators

By reviewing the demonstration that took place in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, it becomes clear that the most prominent reasons that led to their launch are the following:

1- Improving the living conditions of the region’s employees.

2- Disbursing financial dues to employees in the region.

3- Appointing lecturers to permanent positions in the region.

4- Returning financial deductions to employees.

5- Completion of stalled residential projects.

6- Returning agricultural lands to farmers

Notes on how security agencies deal with gatherings:

During the monitoring of the security authorities’ handling of the demonstrations in general, it was noted that the security forces dealt positively with the demonstrations that were launched, as no significant security violations were observed during the demonstrations. This may be due to the nature and size of the demonstrations, in addition to the generality and inclusion of the demands for all workers in government sectors. In addition to its legitimacy, as in the demonstration in the Yusufiya district. The repetition of demonstrations more than once for the same reasons could be one of the reasons for the positive response to the demonstration by the security forces in general.