Eco Iraq warns against the long leave law: it turns employment into income without work and a cost to the budget.
Eco Iraq warns against the long leave law: it turns employment into income without work and a cost to the budget.
2026-08-11
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Economic Observatory “Eco Iraq” strongly criticized on Tuesday the proposed law to grant employees long leave, warning that it would turn into an open financial privilege at the expense of the budget and public funds, at a time when the state is suffering from inflation in current spending.
The observatory said in a press statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “the proposed law submitted by the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which allows an employee to take a long leave while receiving 50% of his nominal salary, presents an unbalanced model,” explaining that “the proposal means paying a government salary to an employee who does not perform an actual service to the state, while at the same time he can obtain work in the private sector.”
He added that “converting leave to long years while continuing to pay part of the salary is not just an administrative procedure, but may entail large and accumulating financial obligations on the general budget, especially if the base of beneficiaries expands.”
The observatory stressed the need to reject “any legislation that expands the financial privileges of employees without a clear study of its cost, the number of beneficiaries and its impact on public spending,” stressing that “the state cannot address the inflation of the payroll by adding new salaries for employees on leave.”
This move comes in conjunction with the Iraqi parliament holding its regular session, which witnessed the completion of the first reading of a draft law to grant employees a long regular leave.
The draft law submitted by the Parliamentary Finance Committee includes provisions allowing employees with at least one year of actual service to take leave for five years or more at 50% of their nominal salary, or unpaid leave for six months or more, while permitting them to work in the private sector and counting the leave period towards their pension, provided they pay the required pension contributions. The law also covers non-permanent employees (contract workers), guaranteeing their right to complete their contract period immediately upon the expiration of their leave.
shafaq.com
