VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKI #1123 2621338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191338Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6913
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF EDUCATION WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV SOCI CG
SUBJECT: PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER STRIKE ENTERS THIRD WEEK 
 
REF: 06 KINSHASA 1462 
 
¶1. (U) Public school teachers across the DRC have been on 
strike for long-promised salary increases since September 3, 
when schools were supposed to open.  The national Congolese 
teachers union, Syndicat des Enseignants du Congo (SYECO), 
and the Catholic teachers union, Syndicat des Enseignants des 
coles Catholiques (SYNECAT) also demand that the GDRC close 
the salary gap between teachers of different grades, and 
between teachers in different provinces.  Some public school 
teachers are reporting to work, but refusing to teach.  Most 
parents have kept children at home since the beginning of the 
strike, partly in response to perceived threats of violence 
against those who attend classes.  The strike is now in its 
third week with no end in sight. 
 
------------------- 
There They Go Again 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The September public school teacher strike has become 
an annual ritual, lasting for two weeks in 2005 and for two 
weeks in 2006.  The GDRC and civil servant unions approved 
the 2004 "Mbudi Agreement," named for the location where it 
was signed, mandating higher civil servant salaries (reftel). 
 The government has yet to implement the increases, generally 
considered to be unrealistic given current budgetary 
constraints.  The GDRC has now also banned the practice of 
"motivation fees" paid by parents to supplement low public 
school teacher incomes.  The GDRC and the unions took similar 
actions last year, and the teachers were on strike for one 
month before the Catholic Church convinced them to go back to 
work.  (Note: Catholic schools, taken over by government 
decree in 1995, represent less than 10 percent of the total, 
but wield inordinate influence due to the power of the Church 
and their superiority in education.  End note.)  Many parents 
continued paying motivation fees last year and basic salary 
levels remained virtually unchanged, despite GDRC promises to 
take up the matter in budget discussions once the new 
government was in place. 
 
------------------ 
Kabila on Teachers 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) During his recent two-hour-long press conference, 
President Kabila deflected comparisons of parliamentarians, 
salaries (USD 4,000/month) with teachers, salaries (avg. USD 
50/month), saying that even if the parliamentary pay was 
divided up among all teachers it would only amount to a few 
dollars each.  (Note: The USD two million per month paid to 
500 deputies would cover the monthly salaries of 40,000 
teachers.  End note.) Kabila has now promised to raise 
teachers, wages to the first level of the Mbudi agreement 
(approx. USD 70), but has not specified a start date.  Kabila 
also indicated that the GDRC would not tolerate threats 
against schoolchildren.  "I am not saying that they 
(teachers, union members) will be thrown in the river, but 
we will be tough with them."  The mayor of Kinshasa this week 
authorized USD 300,000 in "transportation fees" for the 
estimated 30,000 teachers in the city, but the unions are 
promising to continue the strike until the GDRC meets all of 
their demands. 
 
¶4. (U) Comment.  The GDRC is unlikely to be able to meet the 
teachers, salary demands, considering the strain that this 
would place on an already overextended budget.  The 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues to push for a 
census to count those teachers actually in the classroom when 
they are not on strike.  This would allow the GDRC to put its 
meager resources dedicated to primary education (estimated at 
less than one percent of the national budget) into the hands 
of a smaller number of real teachers rather than the inflated 
ranks currently on the books.  End Comment. 
BROCK