Congo Ebola Workers Strike Over 2 Months of Unpaid Wages, Shuttering Key Hospital
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Jul 13
Congo Ebola Workers Strike Over 2 Months of Unpaid Wages, Shuttering Key Hospital
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Jul 13
Summary
Dozens of Ebola response workers at Rwampara General Hospital in Ituri struck Monday, shut the treatment center and blocked its access road over unpaid salaries and bonuses.
The staff — including epidemiologists, case investigators, drivers and gravediggers — say they have gone 2 months without pay since the outbreak began and started walkouts last week.
Health Minister Roger Kamba said the government is checking payroll lists after unrelated names were added, arguing payments must reach the right workers before the dispute is resolved.
The strike hits Congo's response to an outbreak declared May 15 that has reached 1,926 confirmed cases and 702 deaths; Africa CDC last week called it the continent's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
The Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment, and WHO chief Tedros said a second U.S. humanitarian worker infected in eastern Congo was transferred to Germany.