Govt mum on Judiciary demands
The Ministry of Finance says it is too early to indicate if government will meet salary hike demands by Judiciary support staff who downed tools on Monday, paralysing the country’s justice delivery system.
Ministry of Finance spokesperson Nations Msowoya said in an interview on Wednesday that is the case because the two parties are still at the negotiating table.
Said Msowoya: “Right now, government, represented by the Office of the President and Cabinet [OPC] and the Department of Human Resource Management and Development and the Judiciary support staff representatives are still discussing.
“Whatever decision is made between the two parties will be made bearing in mind the financial situation and the economy of the country.”
The strike entered its fourth day yesterday and deputy spokesperson of Conditions of Service for Support Staff Committee, Linley Herbert, said the staff have not received any communication from their superiors on their demands.
Said Herbert: “In the absence of a tangible communication from our bosses, we are not going back to work. What we need is a circular indicating that our salaries have been increased too.”
Judiciary spokesperson Joseph Chigona, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said he was on his way to Lilongwe where he was scheduled to meet relevant authorities yesterday and discuss a solution to the grievances.
Commenting on the impact of the Judiciary support staff strike on Tuesday, Malawi Law Society (MLS) treasurer John Suzi-Banda said while MLS is yet to find out from the affected parties the parameters of the strike, it is concerned about the strike as it is obviously affecting justice delivery and access to justice.
He said MLS is hopeful that the strike will be resolved quickly and fairly for all involved parties so that lawyers can start accessing courts.
Judiciary support staff took the action to force government to increase the salaries just as it has done with all civil servants by downing their tools on Monday.
