Kinshasa, April 21st, 2026 (CPA).- An “indefinite and total” strike by staff and executives of the urban administration of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is scheduled for Wednesday to protest payment delays, according to a statement issued Tuesday. “The inter-union of the urban public administration of Kinshasa is claiming salary arrears of eight months for administrative staff in 2025, ten months for political staff, as well as delays in payment for the months of January, February and March 2026. As the guarantor of the fundamental rights of urban public agents of the city of Kinshasa, it hereby declares an indefinite and total strike starting Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 until further notice,” the document from this union coalition read.
According to the statement, the inter-union also denounced the refusal to retrocede 5% to revenue-generating services, poor working conditions for public agents, and the failure to honor commitments made by the provincial executive through the provincial ministers of Public Service and Finance on April 15th, 2026. The communiqué further indicated that all offices will be closed with padlocks and chains starting Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
In addition, “embassies, banks and public institutions, both national and international, are requested not to receive any documents originating from the public services of the Kinshasa City Hall due to this strike.” The statement also called on security services, particularly the Congolese National Police (PNC) and the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), to “provide assistance to the strikers if necessary, in accordance with their mandates under both national and international legal instruments.” In the same document, the inter-union denounced “the bad faith of the provincial Government of Kinshasa in addressing the demands of the city’s union front,” recalling that previous commitments had enabled a truce within the framework of social partnership for lasting social peace.