MPs’ retirement has no legal basis

By Dr Shorsh Hassan and Harem Karem:

Kurdistan Region parliament

According to the retirement law – number (27) of the year (2006) – an employee of the government is entitled to a pension if he has worked for at least 15 years and been a member of the pension scheme, contributing between 7% and 12% of his salary towards the pension box. Once these two requirements are fulfilled, he is entitled to receive 80% of his salary during retirement. He should receive no less than 750K ID per month (approx $600).

(Note: the Peshmerga members of brigades 70 and 80 currently receive 350,000 ID per month).

A report published in Hawlati newspaper (Issue 585 – 16/12/2009) shed light on MPs’ lucrative pensions, stating that more than fifty NGOs intended to launch a campaign by gathering signatures against the salaries and pensions of parliamentarians. We, too, believe this is a matter of great importance, requiring urgent attention in order to prevent the wrongful application of the law at the very institution that creates law.

In the Kurdistan region, there are more than 300 ex-members of parliament (MPs) receiving pensions of between four to six million dinars a month ($3200 to $4800).

Most MPs are young when they retire, and therefore continue to work elsewhere while receiving their lucrative pensions.

MPs are representatives of the masses and not civil servants, hence they leave their previous jobs to represent the people and, constitutionally, they are not entitled to receive a fixed salary or regular pension from the government – aside from a sum of money dedicated to them as awards, either monthly or yearly, from when they assume office until they leave – in return for their services. After they leave office, for whatever reason, they can return to their previous jobs, unlike ordinary civil servants. But this is not what is widely practised in the Kurdistan region and Iraq.

If we look at Iraq and Kurdistan laws, it clearly states that a sum of money in the form of an award is provided to MPs during and for their services only. For example: Article (1) of law (7) of the year (2005), states: members of council of representatives are entitled to a sum of money on the monthly basis that does not exceed ministerial salaries. Council of representatives’ temporary retirement law number (14) of the year (2005) in article (1) states: members of council of representatives that no-longer serves are entitled to 80% of their awards as pension. Article (41) of Kurdistan parliament elections law, number (1) of the year (1992) also states: Speaker, deputy speaker, secretary and members of parliament are entitled to a sum of money that shall be arranged by parliament.

Other constitutions have also stated that this sum of money, paid monthly or yearly, is dedicated as awards to MPs and is not a regular salary – for example: article 25 of the French constitution, article 66 of the Belgian constitution, article 1 of the American constitution, article 49 of the Japanese constitution, article 48 of the Lebanese constitution, article 91 of the Egyptian constitution, etc.

It’s therefore clear that, generally, MPs are receiving an appropriate sum of money as an award for the period they represent the people and are not entitled to regular salaries.

MPs in the Kurdistan region and Iraq currently receive unimaginable sums of money, which are fifty times more than the smallest salary of a civil servant. Furthermore, after they leave office, they are entitled to 80% of this sum of money as their pension, regardless of whether they work elsewhere or not.

To add to this injustice, there is a law that allows civil servants to receive six months wages’ together with their final wage as a pay-off before they retire; even though MPs are not civil servants, they too receive an extra six months as a pay-off before they retire. These entitlements are arranged according to the Kurdistan retirement law of members of representatives council no (13) of the year (1999).

To put this in context, the total six months’ pay-off for an average civil servant is less than one month’s pay (award) of an MP. Despite having received a lucrative sum of money, MPs also get a pay-off, like civil servants whose total pay-off would not exceed 1.5 million ID, even if they had served 30 years.

In the Kurdistan region and Iraq, when a government employee dies during his employment or retirement, his family is entitled to the following:

If there are three or more family members, they are entitled to receive 100% of the pension.
If there are two family members, they are entitled to 75% of the pension.
If there is only one family member, he or she is entitled to 60% of the pension.

If a government employee becomes retired as result of illness or accident, he is entitled to 80% of his salary. If, however, he hasn’t completed the required 15 years of service, he is entitled to 60% of his salary.

These measures, however, do not apply to MPs. When they die, family members are automatically entitled to 100% of their pension regardless of their number. When MPs leave office at any time during their term, for whatever reason, they are automatically entitled to a six month pay-off as well as a full pension.

To protect their own interests, MPs have amended the relevant law twice in order to raise their retirement entitlement from 65% to 75% (24/7/2004) and thereafter to 80% (29/6/2008). When comparing the Iraq and Kurdistan retirement law, we note that it has been amended in their own best interests, similar to a handful of other countries at the top of Transparency International’s corrupt list. Even according to article 14 of the Iraqi constitution, representatives are not entitled to retirement after they leave office.

We believe MPs should be entitled to 40% of their awards instead of 80% because their awards are 20 plus times more than the average wage. We also believe that this 40% entitlement should be until they return to their previous jobs after leaving office, or find a new job – and it should be for a maximum of one year.

Dr Shorsh Hassan is a constitution expert and lecturer at Suli Uni.