Nablus – Ma’an – The national union of workers called for a massive strike in all provinces Thursday after officials announced the failure of an agreement between the union and the Ministry of Local Government.

The strike will be to preserve the rights of workers, a union representative said. Issues of job security were top on the list along with a rise in wages to match cost of living increases. Union officials said they were pushing for a binding agreement on a document that had already been approved by the ministry.

The union declared a similar strike last Thursday, demanding meetings take place. During the week sit down discussions were held at the Union Headquarters in Nablus with members of the Ministry. Officials said several issues were on the verge of solutions, but the pay-raises were a sticking point.