Prosecutors go on strike
03/10/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
COURTS around the country are braced for strikes by prosecutors starting on
Tuesday.
A union for prosecutors said on Monday that its members would walk out to
press for the same level of pay as magistrates who were awarded a pay rise
after going on strike in April.
Dereck Charamba, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Law Officers
Association, said on Monday: “We are going on strike on Tuesday. We have
notified everyone since August 25 this year of the strike.
“We sent a paper to the Attorney General, the Ministry, the President’s
Office and all other relevant offices informing them of the intentions.”
If successful, the strike could paralyse the court system. Charamba said
prosecutors were currently being paid between US$200 and US$300 monthly,
compared to magistrates who earn between US$500 and US$730.
He added: “The magistrates and prosecutors are all employed by the Judicial
Service Commission… but there is a serious salary and benefits discrepancy
despite having similar qualifications, experience and the fact that we do
the same work.”