UNRWA employees in Gaza stage 1 day strike

The Palestinian workers' union of the UN agency for Palestine refugees in Gaza on Sunday announced a one-day strike to protest the agency's dismissal of workers and its refusal to increase salaries. Union official Suheil Al-Hindi said that a general strike and further protests would be carried out against the agency's administration in the coming days. Open strike is a possibility as well, he added. He said UNRWA had not given any answer to the union's demands to raise pay and rehire the employees it recently laid off. The union is scheduled hold a press conference in Gaza City near the UNRWA office, he added. UNRWA is the UN agency originally set up in 1949 to ensure relief and development for the Palestinian refugees expelled from what became Israel in 1948. Today, the agency provides health care, education, social services, and other forms of aid to nearly 5 million Palestinian refugees.