Erbil Tripartite Social Dialogue meeting discusses impact of the financial situation and regional crisis on the labour market in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq [EN/AR]

Country: Iraq Source: International Labour Organization Please refer to the attached files. Erbil, Iraq (14 May 2026) – Senior representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Federal Government of Iraq, employers’ and workers’ organizations, convened on Thursday 14 May 2026 in Erbil to discuss the impact of the current financial situation and regional crisis on the labour market in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Hosted by the Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the high-level tripartite social dialogue meeting was organized with technical support from the International Labour Organization and support from the European Union Delegation to Iraq under the European Union-funded Social Protection Programme and the Building an Equitable and Inclusive Transformation (BEIT) Programme. The meeting brought together Zakiya Salih, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government; Dr. Khalid Amjad Al-Saegh, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Iraq; Radu Eugen Butum, Head of the EU Liaison Office in Erbil, Delegation of the European Union to Iraq; and Igor Bosc, ILO Country Coordinator for Iraq. Participants examined the impact of fiscal pressures, delayed salary payments, inflation and regional instability on workers and enterprises in the Kurdistan Region, with particular attention to sectors most affected by the crisis, including tourism, construction, manufacturing and small and medium-sized enterprises. The meeting also highlighted the importance of social dialogue as an effective mechanism for bringing together governments, workers and employers to identify practical and consensus-based responses to labour market challenges. “The Kurdistan Regional Government established the Social Dialogue in the Kur...

Original source: Relief Web