At a meeting in Nassau on Friday attended by The Bahama Journal, the magistrates said they would take some form of action because they have been overlooked for raises.
They also indicated that their monthly gas allowance has been $75 for the past 16 years and that they have not had salary increases during that period.
According to one of the magistrates, promises were made on numerous occasions to address the salary concerns of the magistrates. However, nothing was done.
“On Monday, we met with the current attorney general and she assured us that the government would get the magistrates sorted out in the upcoming budget, but we questioned [whether it] would be possible to include the magistrates in the upcoming budget if the monies had already been allotted for the various increases,” one magistrate said.
“We will just have to wait and see if the AG lives up to her promise, but in the meantime we are reviewing our options.”
The government is scheduled to bring a new budget to parliament in two weeks for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
The magistrates are also upset over reports that the staff in the Attorney Generalﾒs office received raises last month ﾖ some of them reportedly received substantial sums, although no government official have provided any specifics in this regard.
The magistrates also raised questions about what they said are deplorable conditions under which they work; and they also pointed to security concerns.
According to one of the magistrates, they regularly receive death threats and last month police found an instrument, which they believe was to have been used in a plan to kill one of the magistrates.
“This is unacceptable,” a magistrate said. “Magistrates handle the load of cases compared to any judicial arm. We handle thousands of cases per year compared to the other judicial arms in The Bahamas and our concerns are being neglected.
“The most working force of judiciary is compensated the least. This is disgraceful, how can they treat us like this?”
President of the Bahamas Bar Association Wayne Munroe, who is a part of the Judicial Review Commission, which was established to review the terms and conditions of judges, magistrates, registrars, public legal officers and the president and vice presidents of the industrial tribunal, said that a report from the committee will be completed within the next two weeks and handed to the relevant authorities.
Mr. Munroe said that he was not at liberty to divulge the recommendations of the committee. However, he did indicate that recommendations were made to increase the salaries of all magistrates and judges.
The Journal was unable to contact Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson up to press time yesterday.
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
