TA wants Judiciary strike resolved
Transformation Alliance (TA) says it is saddened with the continued closure of courts following the ongoing strike by Judiciary support staff.
The sentiments follow a first conciliatory meeting on Monday between the support staff, private practice lawyer Modecai Msisha and the office of the Attorney General (AG) that failed to find a solution to end the industrial action.
The alliance says it is stunned that this is not the first time that the country is experiencing such an industrial action in the courts and that memories are still fresh of the impact of such actions to the nation.
According to a statement signed by TA chairperson Moses Kunkuyu, the alliance says they have been following with keen interest the events that have been unfolding since the news of the action started emerging in the media close to a year ago; hence, their belief was that government would come in timely to avert this kind of action.
Reads the statement in part: “We are not surprised that matters had to be left unattended to that we are finding ourselves in this situation as a country. This shows government’s reluctance and lack of conflict resolution skills in a larger picture.”
Further, the statement says the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led administration must be reminded that the strike has a serious impact on justice delivery in the country as citizens cannot obtain any remedies like court injunctions.
The striking Judiciary workers, who include court clerks, court marshals, drivers, interpreters, court reporters as well as those working in the Administration and Human Resource Department, embarked on a nationwide strike to force government to commit to resolving their grievances, including housing allowances as is the case with judges and magistrates.