Salary hike ends strike by UNRWA workers in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan — An agreement was reached to end a strike in Jordan by employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, hours after the walkout began today, Amman’s top diplomat and a trade union leader say.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announces the deal with UNRWA employees, involving salary rises of between 70 and 100 Jordanian dinars (88 to 126 euros) per month from January, at a late afternoon news conference with union representatives.

“Consequently, it has been decided to put an end to the strike,” says Riyadh Zyghan, leader of the UNRWA employees’ union in Jordan.

More than two million Palestinians are registered in Jordan as refugees with UNRWA, which provides everything from healthcare to schooling.

Around 7,000 workers had joined the strike, forcing a shutdown of agency facilities, according to UNRWA spokesman in Jordan Sami Mshamsha.

Mshamsha says the union demanded a salary increase of 200 Jordanian dinars, but agreed to ask for half that amount following negotiations with UNRWA.

The union of UNRWA workers had said the action would be “open-ended” and had told pupils and students that they should stay at home.

— AFP

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