In May 2010 the Union of Arab Employees of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA) proposed a strike, citing the need for a representative of the union to be appointed to all committees charged with investigations of workers, the formation of a joint committee made up of union members, and an UNRWA administration that can jointly decide on the issues of job categories and pay scale.
In June the union agreed to suspend the strike after efforts were made to resolve the issues by the President and the UNRWA General Commissioner. A strike was instead called in October. After two weeks the UNRWA representative issued a statement saying that talks would only begin with the trade union when the strike had been called off. Staff at UNRWA have been taking various forms of industrial action for the last two to three years over working conditions and pay.