HARARE (AFP) — The Zimbabwean government has awarded a 600 percent immediate pay rise to striking magistrates and prosecutors in a bid to end a three-month work stoppage, state media reported on Sunday.
According to the salary structure released by the government, a magistrate without a university degree -- the entry point -- will now earn a basic monthly salary of 316 million Zimbabwe dollars (10,561 US dollars), the Sunday Mail reported.
Secretary for Justice David Mangota said the government would pay judicial officers and other civil servants half their salaries mid-month and the remainder towards the end of the month.
"The employer has decided to pay all civil servants one half of the total package mid-month and the remaining half towards the end of the month to enable the officers and employees of government to continue coming to work this month," the newspaper quoted Mangota as saying.
The new salary structure will result in provincial magistrates earning between 850 and 911 million Zimbabwe dollars while regional magistrates will now pocket above a billion Zimbabwe dollars a month, it said.
Magistrates and prosecutors downed their tools in October, pressing for better working conditions and an improved salary.
They had demanded a 900 percent salary hike.
The strike resulted in disruptions of justice delivery as many cases, which were supposed to have been heard last year, were still pending before the courts.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
