Baghdad Contract Educators Plan Protest Over Unpaid Salaries

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Contract educators hired in 2024 say they have not received salaries for more than 1.5 years despite continuing to perform their duties. A coordination official, Haydar el-Hasani, said Monday that the group plans to hold a press conference in front of the Ministry of Education building. The educators say officials have taken no concrete steps to resolve the payment issue. They accuse Education Minister Abdulkarim Abdatan of failing to sign the salary approval and of not forwarding the relevant documents to the Ministry of Finance. The contract educators are calling for the approval document to be signed through the Cabinet General Secretariat and for the establishment of a joint committee involving the Education Ministry, the coordination body and the Finance Ministry.