Private sector workers protest in Basra over salary discrepancies

BASRA, September 20 — Private sector workers protested in front of the Central Bank building in downtown Basra on Wednesday after receiving their salaries in Iraqi dinars at the official bank rate of 1,320 to the the U.S. dollar. They say a discrepancy between bank and market rates means they are losing up to 25-percent of their salaries.

Haider Majid, a protester, told 964: “The problem is the government’s failure to monitor private banks that do not comply with the Central Bank’s decisions.”

“We demand genuine oversight of the banking sector. There is significant financial corruption within the private banks that deal in dollars,” he added.

Fellow protester Hadi Jabbar said: “Private banks force employees to receive their salaries in Iraqi dinars at a rate of 1,320, while the market rate is over 150,000 for every 100 dollars.”

“The number of private sector employees in Basra is estimated at 50,000, and they incur losses exceeding 25% of their salaries,” Jabbar said.

Qasim Raheef, Director of the Central Bank’s Basra branch, responded to protesters’ claims, saying: “We have instructed all private banks to disburse the salaries of private sector employees in Iraqi dinars without manipulation of the exchange rate. Unfortunately, some banks do not comply.”

“We will monitor these banks to facilitate the distribution of employee salaries at market rates,” he stated.