Kurdish factions in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in a statement on Thursday, May 29, rejected the recent decision of the Federal Ministry of Finance to suspend the salaries of public employees in the Kurdistan Region.

“Given the dire humanitarian and living conditions that the region’s employees are enduring – conditions that have reached the point of hunger and deprivation of their daily sustenance due to the policies of the Federal Ministry of Finance – this decision is seen as politically motivated and a violation of the Iraqi Constitution,” the factions said. “It disregards the dignity of citizens under any circumstances and contradicts Article 37, which prohibits harming the dignity of citizens in the Kurdistan Region.

“This oppressive policy being carried out by the Ministry of Finance, particularly in matters related to the Kurdistan Region, also clearly violates the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees all Iraqi citizens the right to equality and justice in an equal manner throughout the country.”

The Kurdish factions called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani “to immediately order the release of the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees and not to tie the rights of citizens to any political or technical disputes.”

The Kurdish factions also called upon Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and the Kurdish ministers in the federal government to take a position on this issue.

Furthermore, the Kurdish reformist Gorran Party in a separate statement underlined that the livelihoods of the Kurdish people should not be held hostage to the political disputes between the Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“The decision by the Federal Ministry of Finance to suspend the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements is a clear violation of the Iraqi Constitution and a denial of the financial rights of Kurdistan Region public employees,” the Gorran Party said.

Read More: KDP Warns Baghdad Over Delayed Salary Payments

On Thursday, May 29, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Central Committee warned that it will take a firm stance if Baghdad fails to send salaries to the Kurdistan Region before the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday in early June, an indication they might withdraw from Baghdad if salaries are not sent.

“The united stance of Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament may have caught Baghdad off guard. For years, Baghdad has pursued a policy of economic pressure aimed at weakening Kurdish autonomy – most recently by cutting salaries, despite a Federal Supreme Court ruling last year that such payments must remain above political disputes,” Mohammed Salih, non-resident Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and expert on Kurdish and regional affairs, told Kurdistan Chronicle.

“The move is widely seen as retaliation for KRG’s gas deals with U.S. companies. Differences have and can be resolved between the two sides, but it’s important that the livelihoods of people in Kurdistan should not be used as leverage.”