Kinshasa, October 21st, 2026 (CPA).- A strike aiming to demand the payment of wage arrears owed to staff and managers of the Kinshasa municipal administration began on Wednesday during a sit-in organised in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “We have gone on strike today to demand payment of our outstanding wages, the allocation of staff numbers to the new units, and improvements to our healthcare provision”.
At the root of this action, staff are protesting against several months of unpaid wages. “We have administrative staff who are owed thirteen months’ back pay, those in the offices fifteen months, whilst those in the public utilities department are owed twenty months,” David Luyeye, chair of the inter-union committee for Kinshasa’s urban public administration has declared. To express their dissatisfaction, the strikers have decided not to report to their offices. “No services will be operating and no members of the public will be received during these days of strike action,” Mr Luyeye has added. He has indicated that they are also protesting against the situation facing new staff who are working without pay due to a lack of staff registration numbers. “We are outraged that some staff who are actually carrying out their duties remain unpaid, whilst others, who are reportedly not working, continue to receive their salaries,” the trade union chairman has said.
“We have recently agreed to undergo a physical identification check to enable the Congolese State to distinguish between staff who are actually working and those who are unduly receiving pay,” he has reminded. Following this first stage of their protest, the strikers intend to go to the Ministry in charge of the Civil Service to raise their concerns with the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for this sector. “We will demand that staff numbers be issued to staff who do not yet have them, so that they can receive regular pay,” he has continued. The staff warn that, in the absence of satisfactory responses to their demands, departments and services in Kinshasa could continue their strike action. “The staff are also highlighting the difficulties relating to medical care. We are facing problems accessing healthcare, both for ourselves and for our children,” he has concluded.