Mozambican judges have warned that they may resume their strike, accusing the government of failing to honour commitments made after their 2024 walkout was suspended for negotiations.
The Mozambican Association of Judges (AMJ) said on Monday that most of the issues raised during the 2024 strike remain unresolved despite earlier assurances from authorities.
The judges’ strike was suspended after the government agreed to open dialogue and established a commission to draft proposals on judicial financial autonomy.
AMJ president Esmeraldo Matavele said the association had hoped the process would accelerate after a new government took office in January, but progress has stalled.
Matavele said dissatisfaction among judges was growing, warning that the association’s general assembly on Saturday could decide to restart the strike.
“A suspended strike is not a cancelled strike; it was not an ended strike. It was simply suspended to give way to talks, to give way to gradual resolution, but it is very likely that this strike [will resume], at any moment, in a general assembly,” he said.
Judges are demanding the implementation of long‑promised reforms, including financial independence for the judiciary, correction of irregularities in the Single Salary Table – which currently allows lower‑ranked judges to earn more than senior ones – and payment of outstanding seniority, exclusivity and risk allowances.
Matavele said proposals had been drafted and revised with government input but had not been implemented.
He cautioned that frustration was rising across all judicial levels, from newly appointed judges to appellate judges, and warned that the situation could soon exceed the association’s ability to contain it.
JN/APA