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UNRWA workers begin open-ended strike
UNRWA staff started an open-ended strike on Sunday, shutting down basic services for Jordan's 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.Nearly all of the agency's 7,500 employees responded to a call by their representative councils to hold a work stoppage commencing May 6 in protest against UNRWA's "reluctance" to meet their demands, which include a JD100 pay raise retroactively from the beginning of this year without any cut in their incentives. The employees are also demanding promotions for teachers, directors and supervisors; filling of vacancies in all the agencys sectors; and the improvement of work conditions. The strike has "knock-on effects" on all of the Kingdoms Palestinian refugees, who depend on UNRWA for their livelihood, according to the agency. "Shaker Risheq, head of UNRWA's employees union in the five fields of operations, tried to mediate between the administration in Jordan and heads of workers councils during the first day of the strike, but his attempts have failed to resolve the issue," said a head of one of the employees' councils, who preferred not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the record. Posted by: tipper 2012-05-07 |
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