Renthia Kaimbi
The government says it is ready to resume talks with the Magistrates and Judges Association of Namibia (MJAN) but will not simply accept the new demands made by magistrates. Justice and labour relations minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel on Thursday said the magistrates have shifted from an agreement reached earlier.
Immanuel said the government was close to implementing allowance adjustments approved by former finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi in October 2023 when the industrial action began.
He said the dispute arose after the MJAN introduced new demands that the government believes are completely out of line with the 2023 agreement.
The adjustments were planned for the 2025/2026 financial year. They were based on aligning magistrates’ allowances with equivalent grades in the public service, taking inflation and a future job-evaluation exercise into account.
Immanuel said the salary increases granted to magistrates in 2023 were not a regrading and that it is incorrect to assume allowances should rise automatically.
He said any change to remuneration must follow a legal process that includes consultation and approval from the finance minister.
The previously approved allowances would have increased housing benefits by 4.7% for chief magistrates, 1.6% for principal magistrates, and 21.7% for senior magistrates and magistrates.
Deputy chief magistrates, divisional magistrates and regional court magistrates were not set for adjustments because their allowances were already higher than public service equivalents.
Immanuel said a general increase in public service housing allowances in 2024 justified an alignment for those magistrate grades in 2025. Car allowances were aligned in the same way.
The government says the offer it is prepared to formalise is substantial and fair. The aligned proposal includes percentage increases ranging from 25% to almost 58%, depending on position and allowance type.
Immanuel called the current impasse “unfortunate and unnecessary” and said the demands are based on inaccurate information.
