The strike was launched on Monday in protest at government failure to implement a new payscale.
The Mbudi accord was negotiated in 2004 and has still not been implemented by the government. The pay scale is from $208 to $2080. The government promised to progressively implement the scale in 2006, beginning with a movement to a pay scale from $70 to $700. So far it has only managed to award small increases to huissiers (officials who carry out court orders, the lowest rank of civil servant in Congo).
The director to the Public Services union platform, Romain Mutumoyi Tamundele, has stated that the strike was called after members demanded it. The strike was well-observed in the capital, Kinshasa, and reports suggest that it was well observed in the provinces as well. Most striking workers picketed their workplaces.
The unions estimate that some 500,000 Congolese are employed by the government and they are demanding not only the implementation of the pay scale but also equal pay across the country, currently a huissier in the capital earns $70 and one in the provinces earns $62.
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