The Iraqi cabinet has approved important amendments to a key reconciliation law that will allow more former Baath party members to regain government jobs, Iraq's deputy prime minister Saleh al-Mutlak said on Sunday, Xinhua reported.
"This law (The Accountability and Justice Law) excluded many efficient people and prevented the country from benefiting from their service," al-Mutlak said in a statement.
The draft amendments would allow Baath party's lower-level branch chiefs to rejoin the civil service and also allow many members of Fedayeen Saddam -- a paramilitary organization loyal to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein -- to get pension payments.
Moreover, blacklist according to the law will be done at the end of this year and will not add anyone else afterwards, al- Mutlak said.
The proposed amendments were apparently steps taken by the Shiite-led government to placate Iraqi Sunnis, but they were expected to face stiff opposition in the Shiite-dominated parliament.
For more than three months, Iraqi Sunnis have been taking to the streets to hold anti-government demonstrations in several Sunni-dominated provinces protesting against marginalization by the Shiite-led government.
The Accountability and Justice Law, passed by Iraqi parliament in January 2008, allows ordinary former members of the Baath party to apply for government jobs provided they are clear of crime charges. Senior party members are barred from the benefit.
The passage of the law was regarded as a crucial step in the nation's reconciliation efforts.