The Iraqi government is in crisis after failing to pay the salaries of public servants on a regular basis since it was formed back in May.
Iraqi families are still waiting to receive their wages for the month of October.
The government has been pressing the parliament to approve a new loan in order to resolve the payroll crisis and other financial problems.
These efforts have, however, been met with political blocs that are setting their conditions for the approval of the lending law.
In addition to the political pressure, hundreds of public sector employees staged rallies in the Karbala, Babel, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Diwaniyah provinces in protest against the delays in receiving their salaries.
On Sunday, the Fatah Coalition called on the government to take “real” actions to address the salary crisis, expressing its readiness to support such steps at parliament.
“We are continuously following all measures that must be taken to address the salary crisis and provide the necessary allocations. The government should provide realistic practical solutions that, on one hand, secure salaries and at the same time do not burden the Iraqi Treasury with more loans,” it said.
The bloc said it would be supportive of such actions, and will vote on them quickly.
The Ministry of Finance said it was forced to ask for a new loan of around $40 billion from parliament to pay the deficit in government expenditures and salaries.
On Saturday, the parliamentary finance committee decided to reconsider the amount of the government borrowing, in order to avoid burdening the state with debts.
The committee stressed the need to limit the loan to the necessary expenditures, such as salaries of employees and retirees, social welfare dues and farmers, medicines to confront the coronavirus pandemic and the ration card. Funds must also be allocated to investment projects to boost the economy and provide job opportunities.
