Al-Hasakah health staff unpaid for three months awaiting finance sign-off

Around 1,700 employees of the al-Hasakah Health Directorate have not received salaries for March, April and May, marking a three-month delay that staff say is unprecedented and increasingly burdensome ahead of Eid al-Adha. Health Director Khaled al-Khaled told Enab Baladi that disbursement orders for the three months were prepared and submitted about a month ago but remain unpaid because they are awaiting the finance minister’s signature to place the directorate’s budget at the disposal of the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Finance told Enab Baladi it acts as an executing body and disburses salaries upon receiving payment lists, saying any internal issues are a matter for the Ministry of Health. The ministry pointed employees to a complaints WhatsApp number set up by Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh; Enab Baladi contacted the number for more than 24 hours and reported no response. Al-Khaled said a signed decision from the finance minister would link the directorate’s disbursement orders directly to the Ministry of Health and speed payments. Barnieh has meanwhile issued executive instructions for Decree No. 68 of 2026 on salary adjustments for Health, Education and Higher Education entities. as reported by Enab Baladi