SOME healthcare workers at the epicentre of Ebola outbreak of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are going on strike over non-payment of their wages, threatening efforts to contain the outbreak.

In Ituri, the hardest-hit of the three affected provinces in eastern Congo, some of the health professionals and other front-line workers told the Associated Press (AP) that they had not received their wages and bonuses since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

They also said they were working with limited equipment and being treated unfairly by the authorities as well as response teams.

“Since the Ebola virus disease outbreak was declared, we’ve been demanding payment for our work,” Dr Biensi Kano, a member of the epidemiological surveillance committee in the Ituri capital Bunia, told the news agency.

The latest government data shows 1,708 recorded cases, including 580 deaths, and that the first month of this Ebola outbreak was already the worst on record, health authorities said.

The non-payment of benefits “exposes us and our families to significant socioeconomic difficulties and seriously undermines our living conditions,” said Dr Kano.

In an official notice to national and provincial authorities over the weekend, front-line workers in Ituri threatened to strike if their wages were not paid in 24 hours. By Tuesday, some had already stopped working, although no official strike has been declared.

The aggrieved workers also include safety and security teams, those that often embark on community outreach as well as those burying patients who have died from Ebola.

Officials in Ituri said they had met the workers and their concerns were being addressed.

“The fact that Bunia airport is closed is hampering the very implementation of the response, particularly certain aspects of the flow of funds,” Akilimali Pierre, incident manager at the DRC National Institute of Public Health, told AP.