Ebola Response Threatened as DR Congo Health Workers Begin Strike Over Unpaid Salaries
Healthcare workers at Ebola treatment centers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) are threatening to disrupt the ongoing response to the outbreak due to unpaid salaries and demands for improved hazard pay.
Footage from Viory, recorded on Wednesday at an Ebola treatment center in Butembo, showed health workers vacating treatment tents. A notice at the facility announced that industrial action would commence on November 5 and continue until further notice.
Richard Mwepo, a service provider at the Butembo Ebola Treatment Centre, stated that workers have been providing services since September without remuneration. “We are here to demand our rights. We have been working since September, yet the government has done nothing for us. We are making this demand to ensure our rights are upheld—specifically, the regular payment of our remuneration,” he said.
Nurses, hygienists, and infection-control supervisors from facilities in Butembo, Katwa, and Musienene announced an indefinite strike set to begin on Thursday, November 12, following the government’s failure to address their demands for better pay and working conditions.
Denise Muvughe, head of the ITAV Ebola Treatment Centre, highlighted that employees had not received wages for two months. She urged the government to resolve the outstanding payments and raise wages, emphasizing the risks faced by workers caring for Ebola patients.
This industrial action could impede patient treatment, compromise the decontamination of medical facilities, and hinder infection-prevention efforts, potentially complicating the containment and identification of new infections.
Kavira Neema, an Ebola response worker in Butembo, expressed frustration over the situation. “I am packing my things; we are going on strike because of our pay. We haven’t been paid. Give us our money so that we can return to work. Things might go poorly at the ETCs right now, but the workers have their rights, too. We need to be paid so we can provide for our households,” she said.
Nurse Mwenda-Peke Cordulla echoed these sentiments, detailing the financial challenges faced by healthcare workers. “I am a nurse; I treat the sick—I even bathe the patients, whether they are children or adults—yet I find myself exposed to risk for nothing, without even being paid,” she added.
In response to the situation, health authorities stated that measures are being taken to ensure that both confirmed and suspected Ebola patients continue to receive necessary treatment. Dr. Papy Mafuta, medical director of Katwa Hospital, noted that senior officials are aware of the dispute and are working towards a resolution.
The strike occurs against the backdrop of an outbreak that has reported 11,114 confirmed cases and 5,433 deaths as of November 10, according to the National Institute of Public Health in DR Congo. North Kivu is one of eight provinces currently affected by the outbreak.
