The specter of poverty haunts state employees amid a government deficit

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[size=52]The specter of poverty haunts state employees amid a government deficit[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Saif Abdullah[/size]
[size=45]The large differences between the salaries of the employees of the Iraqi ministries created a state of inequality and class differences between state employees, which prompted the House of Representatives to move to unify the salary scale of employees and organize it in a unified law, after the Ministry of Planning confirmed the presence of employees below the poverty line, due to the modest wages they receive.[/size]
[size=45]And the ministry stated in a statement issued on July 6, 2022, that the Central Statistics Authority conducted a study by statistical people in the governorate and districts about the poverty line for the employee, which showed that “employees in the fifth degree downwards are below the poverty line.”[/size]
[size=45]While many officials and experts admit that there is a problem in the scale of employee salaries, they differ in the solution, and the employees question the government's lack of seriousness in implementing the new scale.[/size]
[size=45]The financial advisor to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, stressed the need for “equal living standards between the classes covered by social welfare and employees of the fifth degree and below.” Saleh said in an exclusive interview with (Al-Mada), that “the Minister of Planning’s announcement that employees of the fifth degree and below are below the poverty line, this means that an important job segment has become without the social welfare program that targets families of the poor classes.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "There must be equality in the standard of living between the classes covered by social welfare and employees of the fifth degree and below, as placing the functional strata at the poverty line means financially enabling them to meet their basic needs of accommodation, food, drinking water, education and health."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed to "the importance of the role of planning and its statistical indicators in providing information bases to achieve the social objectives of the general budget and the adjustment of wages and salaries to combat the problems of the expansion of poverty factors."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the economic expert Nabil Jabbar stated that “employees whose salaries are 400 thousand dinars and less, and they are within the seventh degree, are the most scarce. If the government wants to improve the conditions of these segments, it must activate all economic sectors and all activities to contribute to reducing poverty rates among segments of employees or others.[/size]
[size=45]Jabbar added that “providing the public sector with 10,000 jobs annually will certainly not contribute to reducing poverty rates,” noting that “increasing employee salaries is not a solution at all, because it means burdening the budget with additional burdens, which are already burdened with salaries and basic expenses of the state.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed to "the importance of deducting and spending part of the budget in a way that contributes to revitalizing business and the economy and enhancing opportunities for economic recovery in the country."[/size]
[size=45]In addition, a member of the House of Representatives, Rasoul Al-Halfi, confirmed that there is a tendency to amend the salary scale through the draft law, which was postponed during the previous parliamentary sessions.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halfi said in a statement, “The only problem is in the salary scale and its amendment is the only solution to eliminate this matter, but legislating a special law for the fifth degree or others in order to improve their situation, this is not possible because the matter is related to the salary scale that may be put on the Parliament table in these days.” session.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "The salary adjustment will solve employee problems and achieve social justice among state employees as a whole instead of the current large differences."[/size]
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