Kirkuk: Several Iraqi provinces witnessed wide-scale demonstrations on Sunday, as hundreds of university and educational staff protested against the cancellation of their financial allowances.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, in Kirkuk province, dozens of educational staff staged a demonstration in front of the Directorate of Education building, expressing their rejection of the decision to cancel their allowances and calling on the concerned authorities to reverse it.
In Najaf, university staff continued their protests in front of the main gate of the University of Kufa, objecting to decisions that resulted in the suspension of university-related allowances.
Meanwhile, employees of the Southern Technical University in Basra announced a strike on Sunday and closed the university’s gates in protest against the decision to suspend university service allowances.
Similarly, dozens of staff members from the Southern Technical University demonstrated at the Technical Engineering College in Maysan and the Technical Institute, protesting the decision to cut university allowances.
Protesters raised banners demanding the cancellation of the decision, stressing that it violates their employment rights and negatively affects their living and job stability. They also described the move as a retreat from previously established rights guaranteed under earlier regulations.
In Babylon province, dozens of employees and professors at the University of Babylon staged a sit-in on Sunday at the university’s main entrance, protesting the Ministry of Finance’s decision to cut university service allowances.
A NINA correspondent reported that the protesters blocked the university entrance and prevented access, demanding that the Ministry of Finance withdraw its decision.
In Diwaniyah, dozens of university graduates from various ministries staged a demonstration in front of the local government building, demanding the cancellation of the Cabinet’s decisions regarding university service allowances.
Several of them told the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA), “We call on the Cabinet and Parliament to rescind the recommendations and decisions of the committee that was formed and decided to abolish university service for university graduates.”
They warned that their demonstrations would escalate into open-ended sit-ins and civil disobedience if their demands were not met.
In the holy province of Karbala, dozens of teaching and administrative staff organized a protest in front of the Teachers Syndicate demanding the cancellation of the Cabinet’s decision to stop the disbursement of university allowances.