Iraq parliament receives bill to amend unified pension law for contract employees

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A lawmaker from the New Generation parliamentary bloc has submitted a formal bill to amend Iraq's Unified Pension Law, seeking to extend retirement benefits to contract-based civil servants. Rebwar Orahman Vesta, head of the New Generation parliamentary group, filed the proposal, which has been referred to the relevant parliamentary committees after being approved by the parliament's presidency. The draft targets Article 21, paragraph 13 of the Unified Pension Law No. 26 of 2019. Under the proposed amendment, contract employees would become eligible for a pension after completing at least 15 years of contract service and reaching the age of 45. Pension deductions from these workers would also be calculated under the same rates and procedures applied to permanent civil servants. The bill's rationale states that the current regulation violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Iraqi constitution and creates unjustified discrimination between personnel performing the same duties within the same department. The proposal notes that the amendment would directly affect tens of thousands of contract employees across government institutions. The legislative process for the bill has been formally initiated, with its consideration now before the relevant committees. No further details on the timeline for review were immediately available.