Striking magistrates urged to reconsider
2013-03-19 10:51
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Johannesburg - The office of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng
on Tuesday called on striking magistrates to rethink their actions, as there
could be consequences.
"We...call on any magistrate that might still be
thinking that the strike action or go slow is the route to go; to reconsider
their actions and take up their grievances through existing and official
channels," his office said in a statement.
"We further reiterate that any strike action by any
judicial officer would be ill-advised and could yield undesirable
consequences."
No major disruptions
Spokesperson Lulama Luti said there were no major
disruptions in the majority of courts monitored throughout the country on
Monday. There were only a few isolated incidents, she said.
In Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, criminal courts were postponing
cases. In Madadeni all cases were postponed.
In Odendaalsrus in the Free State, there was one magistrate
who supported the protest.
"This was dealt with and there were no further
disruptions reported," said Luti. It was unclear what the magistrate did.
In Randburg, Johannesburg, none of the 12 permanently
appointed magistrates who supported the protest were doing trials.
"They were reportedly at work and carrying out other
judicial functions," said Luti.
The criminal courts handling trials were being staffed by
six acting magistrates and the acting head of the office.
No civil trials were ready to proceed and no negative impact
on case-flow management was recorded.
Cases were postponed in East London in the Eastern Cape, and
Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
"Other than these isolated incidents, all courts
nationally functioned normally. All magistrates were in court and cases were
heard in the normal manner, and there we no go slows reported," Luti said.
Protest will continue
Meanwhile, the Judicial Officers' Association of SA (Joasa)
said the nationwide protest by some 1 300 magistrates would continue on
Tuesday.
"Yes it is continuing and will carry on for the rest of
the week," Joasa president Nazeem Joemath said.
"We want meaningful engagement and so far we are not
getting that."
If the justice department had not responded to their demands
by the end of the week, the protest would escalate.
Joemath said despite what the department said, work at 70%
of courts was disrupted countrywide on Monday. Eastern Cape courts were worst
affected, he said.
Magistrates want a single pay structure for the judiciary,
one that would have their salaries and benefits put on the same sliding scale
as those of judges. This could see their salaries increase by almost 100%.
A dispute over the salary increase forms part of a matter
before the Constitutional Court.
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- SAPA
