PM urges judges not to go on strike

Maputo, 19 Jul (AIM) – Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane on Thursday urged the country’s judges and prosecutors not to go on strike.

The Mozambican Association of Judges (AMJ) has warned that its members will begin a 30 day strike on 9 August, claiming that the government has shown no willingness to solve the problems faced by judges.

It claims that the interests of judges were seriously damaged by implementation of the Single Wages Table (TSU) in the public administration as from 2022. The AMJ regarded the TSU as a wage cut.

The judges are also demanding the financial independence of the judiciary. The AMJ wanted to see the courts and the Attorney-General’s Office to become independent of the government.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Maleiane said the government is discussing the demands made by the judges and prosecutors and he could see no reason for them to take strike action.

He recognized the legitimacy of some of the concerns they had raised, and said the government had set up “dialogue teams”. Two key points had been identified – one was wages, and the other was “questions of clarification about what is going on”.

“The message I am leaving is that there is no need for a strike”, Maleiane declared. The questions raised by judges and prosecutor “have solutions, and we are working within the structure we have set up, and which is functioning very well”.

The Prime Minister was optimistic that the matters brought to the negotiating table could soon be answered, and so he asked for calm.

“I hope things happen as quickly as possible”, he stressed. “Right now, we are at a very advanced stage, and I just ask all judges and magistrates to keep calm”.

(AIM)

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