The march that began in front of the premises of the District Court of Luanda, in the center of the capital, brought together officials from the courts of first and second instance, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and justice technicians from the Attorney General's Office (PGR).
"Together let's dignify the judicial system", "we want our promotions" and "long live the bailiffs" were some slogans during the march, which 600 meters later, that is, on Rua Iº Congresso do MPLA, was stopped by national police personnel.
An extensive police cordon that occupied both lanes prevented the demonstrators from continuing the march with arguments that they "were entering the presidential security area".
Protesters who intended to reach the Palace of Justice and the National Assembly, institutions located in the upper city, where the Presidential Palace is also located, were "forced" to return to the departure area, on Rua Major Kanhangulo.
"At the last minute, our route was interrupted, because the authorities understood that we were entering the presidential security area, we understand, we did not create any inconvenience to the national police", explained to Lusa Brito Teixeira, secretary general of the Union of Court Officials of Angola (SOJA).
Wielding posters with sayings such as "respect the class of bailiffs", "diligences cannot be done with your own salary" and "we intend to review the remuneration statute" the bailiffs continued their protests in front of the District Court of Luanda.
Brito Teixeira, also spokesperson for the march, in the note presented to the press, recalled the difficulties faced by bailiffs in the 18 provinces, such as the lack of decent working conditions, shortage of employees and lack of career progression.
The non-payment of allowances to court clerks, lack of security and incentives for them at court level, the non-approval of the legal career regime for court clerks at court level and the respective remuneration status are also grounds for the claims.
"These elements make up the text of the claim booklet sent to the Angolan Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) in 2021, but unfortunately, to date, that body has intentionally ignored the class's claims. Last November, we carried out a strike that sadly did nothing to put pressure on the CSMJ's responsible persons", lamented the leader of SOJA.
The secretary general of SOJA, who made a positive assessment of the march, also said he hoped that the employers "receive this message and mobilize themselves to call the unions to start negotiating the terms of the demands".
And the secretary general of the Union of Justice and Administrative Technicians (Sinteja) of the PGR, Elias Pinto, said that the march was positive, regretting, however, the impediment of the national police staff.
"The march was positive, we gathered here a considerable human frame, although there was some impediment in the military bodies, because we had traced a route which we were not able to reach because the men of the order so understood", he stressed.
"But, in a polite way, we obeyed so that we would not be mistaken as troublemakers and we did that and got around", he stressed.
For Sinteja's general secretary, the concerns of the class "are transversal, because they affect a large part of our Angolan justice".
