Sema
The Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region held a meeting today, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, to discuss the issue of public sector salaries in the region and to determine the position on the next phase of dialogue with the federal government in Baghdad.
The meeting focused on the current financial situation of the Kurdistan Region and the salaries of public employees, which have been suspended for the past two months due to an unconstitutional decision by the Iraqi Federal Ministry of Finance. The latest efforts to resolve this issue were reviewed during the session.
The council also discussed a report from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs / the General Directorate of Labor and Social Security regarding workers’ pensions and social security in the Kurdistan Region, presenting statistics and updates on progress made in this area.
So far, salaries for the month of May have not been paid by the federal Ministry of Finance, while the fate of June’s salaries remains uncertain.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Finance has been regularly submitting the monthly salary lists and financial records, in addition to transferring 50% of oil revenues, as per the agreement with Baghdad. However, the federal government has withheld salary disbursements, citing administrative procedures and interpretations that violate both the agreements and the constitution.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani had previously stated that the federal government’s refusal to pay the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees amounts to a form of “collective punishment against the people of Kurdistan.”