Back in July, we told you that the 11 Crown Counsels in the DPP's Office wrote a letter to the Attorney General demanding higher wages. They explained their ongoing frustrations, which came to a head when a foreign attorney with less than 2 years experience at the bar was offered a contract as Judicial Legal Assistant which would see her making $70,000 per year, plus benefits. That is more than even the highest paid crown counsel is making.
Yesterday, the Association of Defense Attorneys lended their support to these prosecutors. In a press release, they pointed out that many of them have been working for over a decade, and have reached their maximum pay scale with no prospects of increase.
The release notes the hiring of the Judicial Legal Assistant and adds that the problem of the "high" salary is rooted in an oversight by government which set the "high" salary without regard to the public sector salaries scale.
The Association then says that several more "high" salaries are scheduled for additional foreigners being recruited in the court system, which will likely lead to more agitation for higher salaries in the wider public service.
And while the Association states that they share the concern of the prosecutors and crown counsel, they also want to draw attention to another issue, which is that Magistrates aren't receiving adequate salaries, and Police Prosecutors aren't getting adequate responsibility allowances.
