Farhad Atrushi, the Second Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, stated that the financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region’s employees are a “red line,” stressing that linking public sector livelihoods to financial disputes directly violates federal court rulings, while defending the Kurdistan Regional Government's compliance with federal auditing and constitutional revenue agreements.

Atrushi’s statement comes as a criticism of the First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Adnan Faihan Al-Dulaimi, who yesterday called for halting financial transfers to the Kurdistan Region and cutting employee salaries over unresolved non-oil revenue disputes with Baghdad.

Atrushi: Salaries Are Not a Tool for Political Leverage 

The Media Office of Atrushi said in a statement that the salary of the Kurdistan public sector is “not a card for political clearing and pressure.” 

He stated that tying Kurdistan Region salaries to non-oil revenues or accounting disputes directly violates the Federal Supreme Court's ruling to separate public payrolls from political disagreements. 

Atrushi emphasized that these employee salaries are constitutional rights that cannot be used as leverage or subjected to punitive settlements. 

He further highlighted that the KRG coordinates fully with the Federal Board of Supreme Audit to maintain transparency, clarifying that recent financial adjustments were not unauthorized concessions, but rather the result of constitutional and technical reviews conducted by the specialized committee.

Atrushi Praises Federal Flexibility on Salaries 

The Second Deputy Speaker asserted that the KRG has strictly met its obligations, transitioning from previous monthly transfers of 120 billion dinars to recent, technically compliant totals of 40 to 50 billion dinars. He concluded that imposing hypothetical figures is unfair, demanding a comprehensive settlement for unpaid entitlements and noting that the parliamentary Speaker previously deemed employee salaries a red line.

“The federal government's flexibility is a commitment to the Constitution and its implementation. Praising the flexibility of the previous and current federal governments in transferring salary funds does not mean they violated the law; rather, it reflects their sense of national responsibility toward their citizens in the region and the protection of social and economic stability in all governorates of Iraq,” he added. He called for the resolution of issues “based on the spirit of national partnership and preserving the rights of all citizens without discrimination.”

Erbil and Baghdad Reach Bilateral Understanding 

A bilateral understanding has been reached between the federal government and the KRG to stabilize salary payments alongside shared revenue obligations, especially after the Kurdish region's internal revenues decreased due to the halt of independent oil exports through Turkey and technical adjustments that lowered monthly non-oil collections from 120 billion to between 40 and 50 billion dinars. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi previously formally instructed the Ministry of Finance to distribute the Kurdistan Region's payroll funding regularly, on time, and on equal footing with all other Iraqi provinces. 

KRG officials welcomed Prime Minister al-Zaidi’s decision regarding regional salaries, noting that it requires Kurdistan payrolls to be processed regularly and without discrimination.