City Press reports that magistrates across the country are furious about the fact that they are still waiting for the salary increases they were promised in April last year.
This was one of many salary complaints that have led to morale among magistrates falling to “its lowest point ever”, claimed a senior magistrate last week. Magistrates’ courts, which are staffed by just over 2,000 magistrates, are regarded as the coalface of the administration of justice in SA. But, magistrates claim the delays in adjusting their salaries to keep pace with the rising cost of living have been dragging on for as long as 14 years. The Department of Justice and Correctional Services has also admitted that it was concerned about the issue. A senior magistrate noted that magistrates had still not received the cost-of-living adjustments that they were meant to have received on 1 April last year. They were not even informed what the adjustment would be. On top of that, their salaries were last reviewed in the 2007/08 financial year. Last year, a further major review of salaries was supposed to have been conducted, but magistrates say they have no idea what the outcome of that process was. The remuneration of judges and magistrates is determined by the president and is based on recommendations from the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers, as approved by Parliament. Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the justice department, indicated that the issue had been taken up with the commission and seemingly the disparity in the salaries of magistrates and prosecutors, which is a particular grievance on the part of magistrates, will receive attention in the next salary review. However, the commission has not yet informed the department when the final recommendation, based on the review, will be available. Magistrates are also disgruntled because they are forced to be members of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), and 14.35% of their packages have to be contributed to the fund, despite the fact that they are not state officials.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanne-Marie Versluis on page 9 of City Press of 2 February 2020
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