AMMAN — President of the
UNRWA Workers' Union Riad Zigan said the open strike
scheduled for Thursday was suspended as several agreements were reached with
the employees during the Tuesday meeting of the Advisory Committee.
اضافة اعلان
UNRWA
Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, who said that “the agency is targeted
and subject to political attacks”, emphasized the agency’s commitment to the
protection of refugees and of the rights of the agency’s staff, also stressing
that “the agency's most important priority is to maintain all essential
services for refugees and to pay the salaries of staff in full".
The
problem might not necessarily stop here. According to Lazzarini, “I do not know
when we will be able to pay the salaries this month, and this problem will
continue next month.” That prompted Zigan to say that Lazzarini’s comments were
disappointing to the staff and that the union is still in “work conflict” with
the administration.
“We
suspended the Thursday strike, and that means we have no other recourse
anymore, as the strike was our last card to play,” Zigan said.
Director-General
of the Department of Palestinian Affairs Rafik Khirfan said an agreement was
reached Tuesday with a pledge by Lazzarini to pay the annual increase owed to
the staff retroactively, as of March 31, 2020.
With
the agency still short of funds, “due to the decline in support from a number
of major donors and despite the fact that the US resumed funding it” under the
Biden administration, Lazzarini said UNRWA is “at a very serious crossroads”.
“The
agency is experiencing an existential threat due to the unprecedented financial
crisis,” said Lazzarini who stressed that funding “helps UNRWA operate in five
areas and provide job security to the agency’s employees”.
Khirfan
said that regarding the annual leave, “which is a four-month vacation without pay”,
the UNRWA commissioner had pledged to find a solution.
“We
are seeking to reach a way to solve the crisis,” he said, adding that “we want
the employees to be granted their rights, but not through a strike that will
harm everyone and is not in the interest of the community.”
Lazzarini
said he had appealed to donors to help maintain UNRWA’s vital role in the
region, at a time he was forced to tell 28,000 staff members that funds were
insufficient to pay their salaries for November and December.
He
also reiterated that "Jordan is a main and strategic partner for UNRWA,
and plays a very important role because it hosts and serves the largest number
of refugees".
According
to Zigan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates
Ayman Al-Safadi was actively seeking to find appropriate solutions to UNRWA’s
plight.
Safadi
and Lazzarini recently took part in the International Ministerial Conference in
Support of UNRWA, co-chaired by Jordan and Sweden, in Brussels.
The
conference brought together representatives of over 50 UN member states,
international and regional organizations, as well as UN Secretary-General
António Guterres, UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini, several UN agencies and
other institutions. Participants pledged “political and financial support for a
modernized UNRWA fit for its times and for taking steps towards a sufficient,
predictable and sustainable funding of the agency”.
"The
agency's inability to pay salaries has an impact on the services provided to
refugees, and the worst that can happen to others is the disruption of
services, which fuels frustration, anger, and chaos and makes them feel
abandoned by the international community," said Lazzarini, stressing that
"Palestinian refugees need UNRWA today more than ever before,” and the
agency is “working tirelessly to address the financial crisis that is deepening
year after year."
"We
need to address the basic services of one of the most fragile societies in the
world," said the commissioner, noting that "the year after year
weakening of the agency fuels anger and a sense of abandonment by the
international community of Palestinian refugees."
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