Judges all over Poland plan to take a day off or go on sick leave, March 31 in protest against low pay.
Waldemar Zurek from the "Iustitia" Polish Judges Association says that a district court judge should be earning 10,000 zloty net, instead of 4-5,000 zloty as of now. The organization will decide this weekend what forms their protest is going to take.
Luiza Dabska, head of Iustitia in Lublin, southeast Poland, said that by not coming to work on March 31 judges want to signal that there is something wrong with the amount they are being paid.
Justice minister, Zbigniew Cwiakalski, sees no need for such an action, as the ministry is in constant contact with the National Judicial Council and the Iustitia Association about pay rises for judges. Two hikes are planned for 2008 and 2009.
According to Zurek, the government's declarations are vague; judges have to earn more than 4,000 zloty because at the moment it is hard to attract young, talented lawyers who have the option of earning two or three times as much in private companies. He added that because of this, courts might be seriously short-staffed within a year. (mo)