Oarabile Mosikare
1 August 2008
Francistown — An unprecedented countrywide strike is looming at the Administration of Justice (A0J) if the employees' concerns are not met.
AoJ employees say this industrial action is likely to affect government's public service reforms such as Performance Based Reward System (PBRS) and Judicial Case Management (JCM) if their demands are not addressed.
Employees of the AoJ blame their woes on the assistant director for human resources, Mary Kenyaditswe Mabutho, deployed from the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG). The employees have given the department a month's notice to meet their demands or else they will down the tools. The AoJ employees met on July 24 to discuss the issue of their salary cuts which started in June 2008. That problem has not yet been rectified. The salary cuts also affected the magistrates. The magistrates petitioned their employer about this anomaly.
The AoJ employees have petitioned the Registrar and Master of High Court, Godfrey Nthomiwa on July 25 about the issue. The employees say they are reliably informed that Mabutho ordered the deductions.
The employees demand: -
* that they be furnished with the explanation as to why their salaries were cut without their knowledge and for what reasons
* that the deductions be stopped forthwith
* that refunds of money previously deducted be effected by end of August 2008
* that their August salaries should reflect true and proper salaries that they are entitled to, being the notches that they were at, at the end of May 2008.
"It should be noted further that these whimsical tendencies by the Assistant Director has affected our lives to the core in terms of tax deduction, pension accumulations, personal obligations discharge and also lowered the morale among staff which generally affected productivity," say the employees. Mabutho should be transferred to Operations or be transferred completely out of the department because "it is a fact that since her joining of this department, there has never been peace due to her lack of consultation, transparency and her confrontational character," demand the employees.
The injured staff threatens to speak to Chief Justice Julian Nganunu if their demands are not met by August. It is believed that Mabutho was transferred from the Local Government (MoL) after employees there rose up against her management style. Sources at AoJ allege that schemes of service for magistrates, clerks of court, court bailiffs, court reporters and court interpreters are not forthcoming.
"Some have been out but not implemented. This resulted in people staying in one post permanently for 10 years. Mabutho blocks people's promotions insisting on academic qualifications at the expense of performance. This is despite that the department is unable to train people," sources said.
"She is the one who shortlists applicants and also sits on the promotion and recruitment board and therefore employs her people from local government. The department has bred a monster they are unable to control by employing this woman. Everyone is complaining about her," they claim.
The employees claim that Mabutho forces stations to advertise industrial class posts contrary to policy. "She goes around appointing her people to these posts. Industrial class posts should be filled locally; but not with this woman. She even hires temporary staff which should be done locally".
It is even said that Mabutho refused to implement the scarce skills allowance for employees who are in possession of a diploma in law.
Mabutho says she knows nothing about the employees' petition. On Wednesday, Nthomiwa said he was in the dark about all issues raised by his subordinates against Mabutho. Nthomiwa also said he knew nothing about a petition.
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