State-employed Iraqi teachers protest salary delays

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - Hundreds of state-employed teachers demonstrated on Wednesday in Iraq’s southern Basra province to protest delays in the payment of their salaries for the second month in a row.

Protestors gathered outside Basra's local education directorate, chanting slogans and demanding the timely disbursement of their monthly salaries.

“Hundreds of teachers are taking part in this protest to demand fair treatment,” Lama Mansouri, a local teacher and protestor, told Anadolu Agency.

“We demand that the government treat us like other state employees and respect our legal rights,” she said.

“Such delays in our salary payments adversely impact our living standards and monthly commitments,” Mansouri lamented.

War-torn Iraq continues to suffer from a severe financial crisis caused by declining world oil prices and high rates of government spending, especially in the military field.

The government, for its part, justifies its high military expenditures by pointing to its ongoing fight against the Daesh terrorist group, which overran much of the country in mid-2014.