UNRWA Staff Union Tells Shihab: Management Intends to Dismiss Thousands of Employees, Our Administrative Disobedience Continues
Ayman Abu al-Tarabish, a member of the Arab Staff Union at UNRWA, warned of the senior management's intention to dismiss thousands of employees under the pretext of the financial crisis.
Exclusive – Shihab
Ayman Abu al-Tarabish, a member of the Arab Staff Union at UNRWA, has warned of the senior management's intention to dismiss thousands of employees under the pretext of the financial crisis, affirming that the union rejects all the downsizing and dismissal measures taken by the management.
In an exclusive statement to Shihab Agency, Abu al-Tarabish said the agency's current management claims the financial deficit stands at $70 million or slightly more, noting that the staff union is aware of the pressures facing the agency's management and the financial crisis.
He asked: "Does such a modest amount warrant the dismissal of thousands of employees?", stressing that the deficit could easily be overcome through financial and political mobilization for the UN organization.
He noted that the Commissioner-General spoke to the head of the conference, Mr. Ariezian, about his intention to dismiss thousands of employees under the pretext of the financial crisis, even though UNRWA's management has faced severe financial crises involving large sums, particularly in 2015 and 2018, and the former Commissioner-General never considered dismissing numbers of employees.
He explained that the series of cutbacks began in 2024, when the Commissioner-General dismissed nearly 15 employees without giving reasons, followed at the beginning of 2026 by the dismissal of nearly 625 employees who had traveled outside the Gaza Strip to escape death and the genocide that occurred in the recent war on Gaza and continues to this moment.
He added that the management dismissed nearly 45 employees from the "MD" program and closed the program entirely, while UNRWA's senior management dismissed nearly 70 employees for security reasons.
Abu al-Tarabish said the staff union has taken several trade-union measures and major escalatory steps, by organizing protest marches against these measures and cutbacks, and against the senior management's premeditated intention to dismiss thousands of employees.
He noted that the union announced an administrative disobedience on the seventh of November this month, and it continues to this moment.
