High Court staff take salary concerns to judicial administration

Employees of the High Court have approached the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) to protest the government’s recent changes to the national pay framework.

Mihaaru News has learned that around 50 High Court staff members remained at the DJA. They had sought a meeting with Chief Judicial Administrator Amjad Musthafa over the salary issue, though it is unclear whether the meeting took place.

Judicial staff across several courts wore black to work on Monday in a coordinated protest against the pay changes. Participants included employees of the High Court, Drug Court, Civil Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court and magistrate courts in several islands.

A petition was submitted to the President’s Office on Tuesday, signed by staff from courts in Malé and across the atolls, calling for an immediate resolution to the salary concerns.

The petition argues that leave entitlements are guaranteed by law, yet the new pay framework reduces attendance allowance when employees take emergency leave. It also notes that some government agencies have promoted staff to higher pay grades based on qualifications, while no such pathway exists in the judiciary.

The petition says that security staff have lost previous holiday and overtime allowances for Saturday duty, leaving them effectively working six official days a week without compensation. It also raises concerns about unequal salary increments across different posts.

A senior official from the National Pay Commission told Mihaaru News that judicial staff salaries would not be reduced and that several allowances had been arranged, including a new Judicial Continuity Allowance.

He said salary adjustments for judicial employees were reviewed in detail, but calculations excluding allowances linked to special circumstances “painted a misleading picture”.

The Finance Ministry has said the full impact of the revised pay framework will be reflected in December salaries.