Magistrates currently earn between US$206 and US$300 but they want the lowest paid magistrate on US$1,000 per month, rising to US$3,300 for the Chief Magistrate.

The Zimbabwe Magistrates’ Association (ZMA) gave a 14-day ultimatum to the Judicial Services Commission in February this year, but the government insists that it is broke.

Douglas Vakai Chikwekwe, the president of the ZMA said on Monday that the government had requested a meeting in Harare on Tuesday to discuss the pay dispute.

“We have been invited to come to Harare but we do not know the agenda,” Chikwekwe told journalists. “If there is no traction on our demands, then our members will not go back to work.

But Rex Shana, the deputy secretary of the Judicial Services Commission, claimed they had not been given notice prior to the strike.

The strike paralysed court business countrywide, leaving hundreds of people in remand prison after their court appearances were cancelled.

At the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court, prosecutors took it upon themselves to advise suspects and witnesses of a possible next remand date.

For prisoners already in remand prison, prison officers were entering possible next remand dates on the Warrant of Detention, but the law requires that a magistrate appends his signature on the warrant.

Police found themselves in a bind as new suspects they were bringing to court for the first time were being referred back to police cells which are not designed to house suspects for more than 48 hours as they do not have the requisite facilities.

The ZMA is demanding payment of $600 for magisterial assistants, US$1,000 for junior magistrates, $1,500 for senior magistrates, $2,000 for senior provincial magistrates, $2,500 for regional magistrates, $3,000 for senior regional and deputy Chief Magistrate and $3,300 for the Chief Magistrate.

By Staff reporter and agencies