Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Details of a comprehensive overhaul proposed for Iraq’s public sector salary scale have been disclosed by Member of Parliament Mohammed Abu Al-Eis, outlining recommendations by a specialized ministerial committee to raise base nominal wages, standardize allowances, and eliminate discretionary bonuses.
The reform package aims to narrow persistent income disparities across state institutions and enhance job equity, particularly for civil servants in lower pay grades, though the draft measures have not yet received formal legislative or executive enactment.
According to statements delivered by Abu Al-Eis to the official gazette on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, the recommendations stem from the Diwani Order Committee established in 2022 to review public compensation legislation. The committee’s framework proposes an updated salary grid that elevates baseline nominal salaries while setting standardized allowances at 50% and 30% pursuant to the State Employees’ Salaries Law.
Under this model, secondary and discretionary departmental bonuses would be abolished, capping aggregate allowances at a maximum ceiling of 50% of an employee’s revised gross compensation, with surplus funds redirected to the state treasury. No executive exemptions would be permitted, barring the armed forces and security apparatus due to their operational operational nature.
The review also addressed macroeconomic implications and data limitations across the state apparatus. Economic experts were consulted to evaluate potential inflationary pressures on basic consumer commodities and safeguard vulnerable demographics, including social protection beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the committee noted that while Table (C) of the federal budget law records 4,074,697 public sector personnel, verified payroll records for only two million civil servants have been submitted to date, underscoring the urgent need to finalize comprehensive civil service registry data.
The proposal stipulates that employees earning elevated compensation under stand-alone special legislation will be excluded from the standardized bonuses until the Council of Representatives enacts harmonizing legislative amendments.
The recommendations would also extend to civil servants in the Kurdistan Region upon final approval, contingent on the regional government providing complete institutional staffing rosters to the federal Ministry of Finance alongside funding requests, while simultaneously standardizing executive pay grades across the country’s sovereign presidencies and supreme constitutional bodies.
