DRC: strikes suspended after successful negotiations
EI affiliate, the Syndicat des enseignants du Congo (SYECO), has called off its strike on 8 October after a successful negotiation with the government.
Congolese teachers had been on strike since 3 September for the implementation of the "Mbudi Agreement", so called after an agreement signed between the government and the public services union in February 2004 at Mbudi.
The agreement states that the minimum salary for public employees is fixed at 35 000 Congolese francs (about 40US$).
SYECO General Secretary, Jean-Pierre Kimbuya, confirmed that the government has now agreed to extend the minimum salary to teachers. This change will enter into force at the end of October.
"Apart from the increase of minimum salary, we have also sucessfully negotiated for the elimination of the different wage zones, which have put teachers outside the capital at a significant disadvantage."
"We will now continue to discuss the issues surrounding transport and housing allowances," he continued.
