Hundreds of employees of Iraqi state departments and institutions demonstrated today, Saturday, in front of the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, demanding an amendment to the salary scale.

Employee Wissam Ahmed told Shafak News Agency, “We went out today to demand that the government and parliament amend the salary scale and address the differences in classes for state employees.”

He added, “There is inequality and injustice in employees’ salaries,” indicating that “an employee in the Council of Ministers, Parliament, and the three presidencies receives a salary of 3 million dinars per month, while someone of the same rank in another ministry receives only 500,000 dinars.”

For his part, the employee in the Ministry of Education, Ahmed Munim, said in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, “The demonstration is not the first, and it will not be the last for all employees to demand the establishment of a new salary scale based on justice and fairness, in which the amendment of risk allowances is also taken into account,” adding that “the demonstration committee met a month ago with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to amend the salary scale without reaching a solution.”

Munim continued, saying, “The demonstration will turn into a comprehensive sit-in if our demands are not met.”

Earlier today, Iraqi parliament member Raed Al-Maliki held the Council of Ministers responsible for not amending the salary scale for employees and workers in the public sector, renewing his demand for the federal government to send the Federal Civil Service Council Law for the purpose of legislating it.

Al-Maliki said in a joint press conference held with a number of his colleagues and members of the House of Representatives, “There is another legal path related to the salary scale, which is done through amending the Federal Civil Service Law or legislating a new Civil Service Law.”

He explained that “we had in the Iraqi parliament a draft federal civil service law that combines four laws, including the salary scale law,” stressing that “the Council of Ministers withdrew this service law, and it was not returned to parliament again despite repeated demands from the representatives.”

Al-Maliki pointed out that “the issue of amending the salary scale law is not with the House of Representatives and the delay is not from it, but the entire issue is with the Iraqi government because it has a financial aspect,” stressing the parliament’s readiness to amend the salary scale if the Council of Ministers sends the Federal Service Law at any time. link

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Tishwash:  Electronic payment products meet the needs of citizens

A responsible source in the global smart card company “Ki” described the current electronic payment products as “acceptable”, but the Iraqi market needs more in a way that makes the citizen’s life easier.

He said: The company realizes the extent of the Iraqi market’s need for advanced financial services, especially after Iraqi society opened up to the world and it became easy to communicate and learn about global experiences.

He added that the support of the government and the Central Bank of Iraq represents an incentive to expand the range of products offered to a wide segment of Iraqi society, especially since interaction with electronic payment continues.

He pointed out that being present in all places and providing services to citizens in a manner that suits their needs represents a lofty goal for the company’s management and its work team.  link

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Tishwash:  Parliamentary Committee Calls for Substantial Amendments to Investment Law to Attract Foreign Investments

 The Iraqi Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Development called on the Iraqi government to make amendments to 12 paragraphs of the current investment law, with the aim of improving the investment environment and attracting foreign investments to the country.

The committee chairman, Hassan Al-Khafaji, explained that the committee discussed with the relevant parties, including university deans and the National Investment Commission, ways to improve the Iraqi investment law.

l-Khafaji stated that the committee was able to obtain the government’s approval to amend 4 out of 12 articles that were proposed, but he considered that the amendments that were approved “are still below the required level.”

Among the most important points discussed by the committee was one related to investment opportunities that investors obtain. Al-Khafaji pointed out that some unsound companies exploit these opportunities, which leads to the flight of capital and the disruption of projects.

Al-Khafaji stressed that the committee is striving to change this paragraph of the law, to ensure that serious investors have real opportunities to invest in Iraq.

In addition to the amendments to the investment law, the committee also discussed several other economic laws, including laws to combat price increases and open new cities.

These efforts by the committee come within the framework of its efforts to improve the Iraqi economy and attract foreign investments, which will create new job opportunities and improve the standard of living of citizens.  link

Mot: Soooooo Thoughtful!!! — siigghhhhhh