Teachers in Kahemba of Kwango Province have threatened to go on a strike on Monday, 11th September as they demand for payment of two months arrears owed to them by government.
In a statement released on Thursday, teachers have given the Congolese government a three-day ultimatum to settle their arrears for the months of July and August.
Teachers have threatened to remain at home indefinitely should there be no promising response from the state on Monday.
Meanwhile, the teachers have also complained and pointed out a number of challenges that they face including lack of school supplies for students and operation costs with the school management now unable to declare a timeline for the resumption of normal classes.
“Let us note with bitterness the repeated and deliberate delay in payment of our salaries and operating costs for the months of July and August 2023 by the Equity BCDC bank.
However, it is with these funds that, on the one hand, teachers (parents) prepare for their children’s return to school and on the other hand, schools provide teachers with necessary school supplies. Therefore, we are asking Equity BCDC to contact us in these last three days of the first week of the start of the school year, otherwise, school days without teachers will be decreed from this Monday, September 11. It’s up to the government to change banks because enough is enough,” the teachers declared in a statement.
Teachers in the territory of Kahemba have been faced with a host of challenges and previously went on a two-weeks long strike have earlier this year in April after going four months without pay.
