Karbala night watchmen protest 10-month zero salaries

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Dozens of night watchmen in the province of Karbala staged a protest on Sunday for not receiving their salaries during the past 10 months and demanded to affiliated to the interior ministry, one of the protesters said. “We demonstrated today (Oct. 18) because we have not received our salaries for the past 10 months, which means that our families and children have no money to sustain them,” Hussein Hashim told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Last year, the former local government has pledged to release our salaries but ever since the first month of this year, both the former and incumbent administrations declined to cash our money as if we were jobless,” he said. “We are more than 600 night watchmen and we contribute to maintaining security in our own areas. Now we demand to be affiliated to the interior ministry,” he added. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 1