Director General Halabja Health Directory Azad Mustafa told KurdSat English that the hospital housekeepers [working for Halabja Health Directory] are not paid their wages for the last six months.
The general director added that the hospital housekeepers that number 163 and other health staff refuse to receive their wages in protest of the unpaid hospital housekeepers.
"Other health staff refused their salaries in support of the unpaid workers for the last six months," Azad Mustafa explained. The hospital housekeepers have been working without interruption for six months, yet their wages remain unpaid.
The employees need 70 million dinars monthly for their wages, which is about 400,000 dinars monthly per housekeeper. The recently established governorate of Halabja has a small public health service, yet its frequently ignored by the KRG.
"This civil attitude of health workers is an expression of support for this beloved sector and a message to the Kurdistan Regional Government to solve their problem and respond to our letters to pay their salaries," the general director told KurdSat English.
The governorate is home to many injuries from the 1988 Halabja Chemical Bombardment that such patients usually ail with severe respiratory diseases and the health sector. Unofficial figures put the number of wounded from the chemical attack at around 2000 still living in the city and need immediate medical care.