Dozens of workers at an Ebola treatment center in Congo go on strike over unpaid salaries

Dozens of workers at an Ebola treatment center in northeastern Congo went on strike, protesting the non-payment of their salaries and bonuses.

The striking workers at Rwambara General Hospital in Ituri province include epidemiologists, case investigators, drivers, and grave diggers, who say that Congolese authorities have not paid them.

Congo has been battling a new wave of the virus since May last year, which the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention described last week as the fastest Ebola outbreak ever recorded on the continent.

Some health workers at the center and field staff began striking last week, accusing authorities of failing to pay their salaries since the outbreak began.

Bahati Claude, a worker at the center—the largest in the Rwambara health zone—told The Associated Press: “We don’t understand how it’s possible that we haven’t received our salaries for two months. We don’t want to abandon our jobs.”

Congolese authorities announced a new Ebola outbreak on May 15, after the disease had been circulating for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organization. The latest outbreak was caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

During a visit to Ituri last week, Congolese Health Minister Roger Kamba said the government was verifying the list of those working to contain the outbreak, noting that some names unrelated to the response had been added to the payroll.

Kamba said: “We must ensure that these payments reach the right people. We have faced some challenges, particularly changes in the lists, which have led to complaints from people who say they are not receiving their salaries despite working. We have the means to resolve this issue.”