18 March 2004
Policy on Payment of Public Sector Salaries in March-April 2004

This policy applies to all State employees and employees of State Corporations and other self financed entities. See below for more details.

Freeze on Hiring and Promotions. In accordance with the August 5 CPA OMB memo, no Iraqi Ministry, agency, company or other government organization may hire employees at a level above the applicable end strength limit for that entity, as approved in the current FY04 National Budget (effective January 1, 2004), except as approved by the Interim Minister of Finance and the CPA Director of Management and Budget under the established procedures. Promotions are also temporarily frozen.

Salary Scale. Salaries will be paid in new Iraqi dinar at the new salary scale, as set out in CPA Order No.30 dated 08 September 2003. All Ministries were funded to implement the new salary scale in January and were supposed have it completed by the end of February. Any ministry that has transferred over to the new salary scale must be able to pay salaries from their salary budget including the additional 40% increase that was distributed by the Ministry of Finance. It must be understood that all employees did not receive a 40% increase, but rather 40% of the total salary budget was added to cover those employees that will receive more under the new scale.

All ministries must transfer over to the new salary scale as a whole ministry, as opposed to one department or governorate at a time. If the salaries are above the allotted amount then the ministries must redo the placement of employees in the new salary scale, no ministry will be given additional funds for salaries beyond the 40% increase. Employees will continue to be paid at the 4-tier scale until the transfer of the entire ministry is complete.

State Owned Enterprises. Employees of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) receiving support from the Ministry of Finance shall be paid at the four-tier scale for February and all subsequent months until a formal decision is made regarding salary levels for employees of State-owned Enterprises. Any differences in salary, stemming from the formal decision, shall be given as back pay for those months in which the difference was not paid for February and all subsequent months. Any SOE not requiring funding support from the Ministry of Finance may choose to move working employees to the 11-tier pay scale and pay these employees accordingly.

Facilities Protection Service. Effective 01 March all Ministries are responsible for the salaries and hazardous duty pay for their Facilities Protection Service (FPS) guards. Ministries shall submit FPS payroll funding requests to the Ministry of Finance on a monthly basis in accordance with procedures described below. Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 27 dated 04 September 2003 lays out guidance regarding the establishment and administration of the FPS. All ministries dealing with personnel providing security should refer to the Security Salary Matrix at http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/revisedsalarymatrix.pdf.

Back-pay and Recovery of Excess Pay. Employees who have not received their full salary entitlement for the previous six months shall be entitled to payment of the balance. Any double payment or overpayment of previous month’s salaries shall be deducted from February salary payments.
Procedure. All salary payments will be authorized by Ministry of Finance officials, acting in accordance with the established policy, through the Treasury account. Payments will be executed through the Rafidain and Rasheed banking systems, which act as the agent of the Ministry of Finance. The Director General of Accounts of the Ministry of Finance will issue a circular to all Ministries and Departments setting out the procedure for the payment of March salaries.

To obtain authorization for disbursement of funds for salary payments for both centrally financed workforces and for the employees of State Corporations and other self-financed entities for which they are responsible, Ministries, and their relevant Directorates are responsible for providing the following:
Accounting for previous month payments. Each ministry must provide payroll execution information to the responsible Accounts Departments at the local Treasury Office or Ministry of Finance. Information should include funds received, funds paid out, number of employees in each pay grade that were paid (by directorate) and the balance remaining. Unused payroll funds will be redeposited in the bank from which they were withdrawn and a receipt filed with the local directorate accounting manager. If, in previous months, payroll payments were inconsistent with Ministry of Finance guidelines at that time, the Ministries are required to provide relevant accounting of those salaries and emergency payments before additional funds can be released. Information should include details of any such salary or emergency payments, including a list of names to which the money was paid. The Ministry of Finance should provide details on the previous month’s payroll execution by Ministry to the CPA Office of Management and Budget.
Requests for payment for current month. For administrative convenience, Ministries are to present a single report, and single request for release of funding for all their directorates/spending units, rather than separate requests for different directorates/spending units. Requests for payment should include a cover letter written on official paper, approved by the three senior officials of the directorate/spending unit and signed by the Director General of Administration and Finance. The request should also include a spreadsheet with the names and grades of the employees to be paid. If required payroll exceeds that of the previous month, the request for payment must be approved by the CPA Senior Advisor. Any actions that will cause the increase of more than 1% in the pay bill of a workforce over the level paid in August must be approved by the CPA Senior Adviser to the Ministry of Finance before the payroll can be executed. If the governorate demonstrates responsible payroll practices consistent with Ministry guidance, the Baghdad Ministry of Finance can delegate payroll management to the local branch of the Treasury, provided the Senior Advisor of the Ministry agrees.

Executing payroll. Internal audit sections in each ministry shall review the payroll and salary process for conformity with approved methods for payment by the Ministry of Finance, as well as the integrity of individual payments. In each accounting unit the three person committee shall oversee the distribution of salaries. The names of these individuals will be kept on file at the Agent Bank authorizing the release of funds. A post payment audit shall be performed by the Board of Supreme Audit wherever possible.
The Ministry of Finance shall issue authorization to designated banks to provide specified funds to named representatives of Ministries and Departments to pay salaries. Presentation of this authorization, which may be transmitted electronically, at the designated bank, will release the specified funds to the named representatives for the purpose of paying salaries.
Contract employees will be paid from operating expenses, as provided through the budget, and not out of payroll.

Points of Contact for Further Information:
John Hanley, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, hanleyj@orha.centcom.mil 
Anita Greco Advisor, Ministry of Finance, grecoa@orha.centcom.mil
Brendan Wheeler, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, wheelerb@orha.centcom.mil
Brendan Lund, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, lundb@orha.centcom.mil
John Moore, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, moorej@orha.centcom.mil