'#WhereIsTheSalary?'
New hires at Najaf health department on strike over delayed salaries
NAJAF — Dozens of employees from the Najaf Health Department staged a demonstration on Monday demanding two months of unpaid salaries. The protesters displayed signs with the slogan “Strike Until Payment,” and a hashtag that stated, “#WhereIsTheSalary?”
A health department representative said officials would resolve the issue and pay overdue salaries for nearly 2,700 employees in Najaf. The issue reportedly affects newly-employed individuals within the department.
Ahmad Hassan, an affected employee, told 964media, “We haven’t received our salaries for November and April yet, and we have families and responsibilities.”
He said fellow employees had spoken to the health department director, who attributed the problem to the federal government’s finance ministry, while new hires in other governorates reportedly have not experienced delays. “How can we believe that the issue is with the ministry?” he asked.
Mujtaba Fares, another employee, said, “There are 2,700 of us who haven’t received salaries for two months. I have commitments and a loan to repay, and I don’t know how to. We left our private-sector jobs and came to the public sector believing the salaries would be guaranteed.”
Maher Al-Aboudi, head of media at the Najaf heath department, told 964media that officials are determined to resolve the salary issue. He cited “administrative problems” and the delayed approval of the federal budget as reasons for the unpaid salaries.
“We have formally asked the Ministry of Finance for the full amounts of the delayed salaries, and after the Najaf health director’s follow-up, they have approved it,” Al-Aboudi stated. “The funds will be transferred to the health department’s accounts, and we will distribute them in the coming days.”