Peregraf
A large number of shops in Sulaymaniyah shut down today in solidarity with striking teachers and public employees protesting the prolonged salary crisis.
Teachers and public employees, who have been on strike for weeks, urged business owners to temporarily close their doors as a show of support. They also called on the public to visit their protest tent, where demonstrations continue against the ongoing salary delays.
In response, shops and markets in central Sulaimaniyah were shut down by shop owners in solidarity with the striking teachers and employees and their demands. A primary demand of the teachers and employees is a comprehensive resolution to the salary crisis, advocating for the implementation of the unified Iraqi salary distribution system, known as Tawteen, for salary distribution in Kurdistan, free from the interference of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Additionally, the striking teachers and employees are insisting on the distribution of salaries for December 2024 from the KRG as a prerequisite for ending the strike.
Meanwhile, twelve teachers have entered the fifteenth day of a hunger strike, demanding their unpaid wages. Despite deteriorating health and harsh weather conditions, they remain determined to continue their protest.
The crisis, which has left thousands of teachers and public employees without pay for months, has fueled growing frustration across the Kurdistan Region. While the KRG has remained firm in its position, public outrage is escalating, raising concerns about potential unrest in the coming days.
On Sunday, security forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) prevented teachers from entering Erbil. At the Degalla checkpoint, KDP forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse teachers and public employees attempting to reach the city. The crackdown is widely seen as an effort to prevent public sector workers from staging protests in the Kurdish capital over the ongoing salary crisis and the KRG’s failure to implement Iraq’s salary domiciliation initiative, known as Tawteen.
As tensions continue to rise, authorities face mounting pressure to address the demands of public employees or risk further escalation of protests across the Kurdistan Region.