Labor Watch - Staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) began an open-ended strike on Sunday to demand better living and working conditions.
The union of UNRWA’s employees announced the open-ended strike after the failure of the negotiations with UNRWA’s presidency and management and the lack of any response to the employees’ demands. The demands include an increase of 100 dinars in the salaries of all the workers - as part of the basic salary starting from early next year, 2020 -, the conduction of a comprehensive salary survey taking into account the current economic difficulties, the reassignments of all posts, the abolishment of the day labor system, the improvement of the health care and services in UNRWA clinics to avoid shortages - there is only one physiotherapy center for all the Kingdom’s clinics and one ineffective radiology center serving 2 million refugees -, the provision of high-quality medicines for patients, especially those with chronic diseases, an increase in the number of sanitary workers in the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, a reduction in the number of students per classroom in UNRWA schools- which is currently close to fifty students in most cases.