Parliament holds second reading of Labour Bill, passes Animal Protection Law and other laws; MP Soz Abdulqadir (Gorran) is sworn in
The Kurdistan Parliament on 29 and 30 November 2022 held the second reading of the important Labour Bill, and voted several other bills into law, including the Law on the Protection of Animals. Soz Abdulqadir (Gorran) was sworn in as a new Member of Parliament, taking the place of Shayan Kaka Salih (Gorran) who resigned her seat.
Speaker Faiq said, “For the first time, we will try to pass a labour law for the Kurdistan Region that meets contemporary international standards, and once we complete the legislative procedures for this bill, the people of Kurdistan Region will have a Labour Law based on international standards, human rights principles and Kurdistani people’s traditions.”
Alongside Speaker Faiq were Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami and Secretary Muna Kahveci.
Before following the sitting’s order of business (agenda), several MPs raised parliamentary memos and reports sent to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding the public’s problems and demands, and asked that the KRG respond to them.
Speaker Faiq replied, “In the past, 45 parliamentary memos and reports have been sent to the Government, and Parliament sittings have taken place, with the presence of Government officials, on 29 of the memos and reports.”
The Speaker continued, “The KRG is a coalition government of cooperation, and the political parties that form and participate in it share in its achievements, but they also share the responsibility for any failures and negligence. Within parliamentary work and under the provisions of Parliament’s internal rules of procedure, memos (to the KRG) and parliamentary scrutiny should be used. Other issues and procedures should be raised through discussions with [your own] parties’ representatives in the government.”
For the second reading of the Labour Bill, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Kwestan Muhammad and Minister for the Region for Parliament Affairs Dr. Vala Farid were present to give their comments.
Parliament’s Legislative Committee and Social Affairs Committee read out the bill, and MPs gave their opinions and suggestions on every clause and article. Minister Kwestan Muhammad replied to some of the comments.
On 29 November MPs completed reading 100 of the bill’s 154 articles, and the reading of the remaining 54 articles was completed the next day.
Parliament also voted on and passed four bills into law. These two bills were passed by the unanimity of the quorum: The legislative proposal on the Protection of Animals in Kurdistan Region – Iraq, and the Legislative proposal on the Implementation of the Federal Law on Electronic Signatures and Electronic Transactions, Law No. 78 of 2012.
The Bill on Amendment to the Application of the Law on the Administration of Endowments, (Law No. 64 of 1966, as amended in Kurdistan Region – Iraq), passed into law with 66 votes.
The Bill on the First Amendment to the Law on the Shura Council of the Kurdistan Region - Iraq, (Law No. 14 of 2008), passed into law with 60 votes.
On 30 November, Soz Abdulqadir Abdulrahman Ahmad (Gorran) was sworn in as a new Member of Parliament. She replaces Shayan Kaka Salih Muhammad (Gorran), who resigned her seat. Ms. Abdulqadir became a Member under the provisions of Article 47 of the Kurdistan Region Election Law (amended Law No. 1 of 1992) and per Article 27 of Parliament’s Internal Rules of Procedure.
Deputy Speaker Hawrami concluded the sitting by asking the relevant committees to prepare the Labour Bill’s voting report. He thanked the two committees, Minister Kwestan Muhammad and Minister Vala Farid for their work to successfully complete the bill’s second reading.
