GAZA CITY: Workers have seized partial control of the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Hamas-run Gaza, its head said on Wednesday, accusing their union of “mutiny” over job cuts.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced last month more than 250 staff in Gaza and the occupied West Bank would lose their jobs, after a $300 million cut in annual funding from the United States.

The redundancies have prompted daily protests by the agency’s labour union in the enclave, which UNRWA’s Gaza head said have led to security concerns.

“They have taken over the compound where my office and other offices are,” said Matthias Schmale.

The agency’s Gaza chief admitted UNRWA does not have full control over the site, in Gaza City, explaining he has not been able to work from his own office for more than two weeks. “I am the captain of the ship which has 13,000 sailors on it and they have basically thrown me off the bridge and consigned me to my captain’s quarters,” he told AFP, referring to the number of employees in Gaza.

UNRWA provides support for more than three million Palestinians across the Middle East, including the majority of Gaza’s two million residents. It operates more than 200 schools in the enclave, which may not open at the start of the academic year without new funding and an end to the labour dispute.

“This is a peaceful and safe sit-in inside the regional headquarters of UNRWA to demand [employees’] right to be able to continue their work,” said Amir al-Mishal, head of the UNRWA employee union in Gaza. He said some of those affected by the cuts had been working for the agency for more than 30 years and they were seeking dialogue with the management.

A small number of employees have begun a hunger strike against the cuts outside Schmale’s office, seeking to force management to reverse course.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2018