Will Iraqi government employees face more wage cuts in 2016?
Plunging oil prices are now affecting ordinary civil servants’ salaries in Iraq. Al-Monitor met with an employee of the Ministry of Culture who, on condition of anonymity, shared his plan of submitting a request to take a one-year leave of absence without pay once he finds a job in the private sector to make up for the government […]Mustafa Saadoun writes for Al Monitor:
Plunging oil prices are now affecting ordinary civil servants’ salaries in Iraq. Al-Monitor met with an employee of the Ministry of Culture who, on condition of anonymity, shared his plan of submitting a request to take a one-year leave of absence without pay once he finds a job in the private sector to make up for the government salary. Rumors that civil servants may end up not being paid in the coming months are the result of a 3% reduction in their salaries as of January, which is helping fund the Popular Mobilization Units in their war against the Islamic State (IS).
