Jordanian Labor Watch -
The General Conference of the Workers' Unions of the International Relief Agency "UNRWA" announced its intention to implement escalatory measures that include two sit-ins for all workers during the current November.
This came in a statement issued by the conference yesterday, Monday, in protest against the agency’s infringement of the employees’ rights and their historical gains in salaries and bonuses, and that it exerted pressure on refugees by stopping recruitment and depriving young people of job opportunities and throwing them into the unemployment market under the day-to-day system, under the pretext of financial deficit.
The conference decided to carry out the first sit-in on November 8th for all UNRWA employees in their workplaces for only one hour, followed by a second sit-in on the 16th of the same month for two hours.
The conference also decided to stop all workshops, training and courses for all employees and in all areas of operations, whether inside or outside the region, and to stop dealing with the "EMIS" system in all UNRWA schools.
In addition, stopping visits by educational experts, unit coordinators and supervisors to all schools and in all regions.
The conference affirmed its demands to cancel the exceptional leave without pay for all employees, which it was considered as "a pretext for financial deficit."
And he demanded the return of the annual allowance and in a retroactive basis, which has been frozen since last March, and stressed on the commitment of the Commissioner-General to abide by what he promised the employees in his previous bulletins.
He also called for opening the door for permanent appointment of refugee children in all sectors, hence, fixing them on category (A), ending the state of slack in the institution throughout thousands of employees who works on day-to-day contracts, in addition to implementing the decisions of Beirut Conference on the end of service benefits and the provident fund, the commitment of the Agency’s management of 7.5%, and the payment of salaries for the months of November and December without delay or fragmentation.
The conference indicated the possibility of carrying out an open strike at the level of the five areas of operation ( The West Bank, Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria).
The conference held the Agency's management fully responsible for the consequences of these escalatory measures, and pointed out that this would lead to the suspension of studies and the disruption of refugee services.
The conference clarified that these measures came “as a result of the pressure policy pursued by the Agency towards employees, refugees and the hosting countries to get away from its humanitarian and historical responsibilities towards more than 5 million refugees, and to abandon the goals for which it was found since more than 70 years ago, in providing assistance and employment for Palestinian refugees.”
And he indicated that he sent a written message to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and provided him with a full view of the crisis. In addition to sending a work dispute letter to the conference administration yesterday, Monday.
The conference called on the Agency's management to take advantage of the 21-day notice period, to meet the workers' demands for constructive dialogue and to spare the refugees any negative consequences.