The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Health Center building is pictured in Gaza City, on July 26, 2018. UNRWA official confirmed that the contracts of 100 emergency employees were terminated, and other 900 employees will be transferred to the part-time system by the end of this year. In response to the decision, hundreds of UNRWA employees demonstrated on Tuesday and Wednesday inside the agency's headquarters calling on the agency to cancel the decision. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)
GAZA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of employees of United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) continued a general strike on Thursday in the Gaza Strip against job cuts of the UN agency.
Youssef Hamdouna, secretary of UNRWA's staff union in the Gaza Strip, said the strike "is a message of perception of the great danger that threatens the staff of UNRWA," slashing the agency's decision of firing employees due to a financial deficit in UNRWA's budget.
"The strike is an escalation of the protests against the reduction of the agency's services, the demobilization of its employees and a refusal to resolve its financial crisis at the expense of Palestinian refugees and employees," said Hamdouna.
On Wednesday, an UNRWA senior official said on condition of anonymity that the agency may suspend its services in the Gaza Strip in case protests against its financial cuts go on.
The warning came shortly after Wednesday's protests of hundreds of local UNRWA employees inside the agency's headquarters in central Gaza.
During the protest, demonstrators forced permanent employees to leave their offices.
UNRWA official confirmed that the agency has officially informed 1,000 UNRWA employees who work in its emergency program in the Gaza Strip that the contracts of 100 emergency employees were terminated.
The other 900 employees will be transferred to the part-time system until the end of this year, the agency said.
Hundreds of UNRWA employees demonstrated on Tuesday and Wednesday inside the agency's headquarters, calling on the agency to cancel the decision.
UNRWA officials had warned earlier that measures of cuts were to be taken due to a severe financial crisis the humanitarian agency has been passing through since the United States decision of cutting around half of UNRWA's annual budget.
UNRWA Staff union officials said they sent a letter to UNRWA's director of operations in the Gaza Strip, Matthias Schmale, stating that the union had started measures that would include the closure of the headquarters for a day or two and a 21-day comprehensive strike.
Two weeks ago, the agency announced its success in reducing its fiscal deficit to 217 million U.S. dollars. However, UNRWA warned that it would have to cut its services because of the shortfall.
UNRWA's media advisor, Adnan Abu Hasna, told Xinhua earlier that the agency is exerting intensive efforts to bring the necessary funding to fill the deficit, but in the event of failure to do so, measures will be taken to reduce its services.
He said the agency understands the staff's anger, pointing out that it is in constant dialogue with the employees to show the financial situation and the seriousness of the continued deficit in the agency's programs and services.
UNRWA provides services to about 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development.
UNRWA services include education, health care, relief, social services, infrastructure, camp improvement and microcredit.
