judicial anger over salary hikes for top judges
18 June 2007

Chief Justice Pius Langa has called a meeting between himself and the 10 heads of court in a bid to resolve concerns over ‘divisive’ proposed pay hikes for the judiciary.

According to a Sunday Times report, judges have rejected a proposed 17% pay rise (taking their earning to R1.1m a year) because Langa, is due for a 65% increase – in effect a revision from R1 034 302 to R1.7m. The recommendations have come from the Moseneke Commission, which recommends salary increases for judges, politicians and traditional leaders.

The Commission said it had a ‘strong view’ that the Chief Justice’s pay should be equal to that of the Deputy President, the National Assembly Speaker and the chairman of the National Council of Provinces. This would, it said, signify the equality between the executive, judiciary and legislature.

They recommended other senior judges for increases of between 40% and 51% – among them, Craig Howie, who heads the Supreme Court of Appeal (R1.5m); Lex Mpati, deputy head of the SCA (R1.4m); Constitutional Court judges (R1.3m); and the 19 appeal court judges (R1.3m).

Judges from the Transvaal Provincial Division and the Witwatersrand Local Division have taken issue with the differences in salary hikes between them and the senior judges, saying: ‘It is undesirable for judges to aspire to promotion because of financial considerations, as this will be divisive’. They also said that the Commission had ‘failed to justify the substantial differences’ in increases for more senior members of the judiciary.

Full report on Sunday Times website.
 
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