The lawyers of the administration of Justice maintain the indefinite strike that began on January 24. This was confirmed by the representatives of the strike committee at a press conference held this Wednesday in Madrid, in which it was shown that the conflict is still totally bitter two days after the second meeting with the Ministry of Justice is held.
Justice and the lawyers do not reach an agreement and the indefinite strike that has already suspended thousands of trials continues
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“We are on strike because the Ministry of Justice has deceived us at least three times,” said lawyer Juan José Yáñez, a member of the Progressive Union of Justice Administration Lawyers (UPSJ) and a member of the strike committee. Up to now, the indefinite strike that these officials have maintained for almost a month has caused the suspension of tens of thousands of judicial proceedings between trials, statements and other proceedings.
The conveners assure that they will go to the appointment with the representatives of the department directed by Pilar Llop with a “constructive spirit”. However, they warn that as former opponents they are “persistent” and “resilient” and will continue with the strike “as long as necessary” until they achieve their “salary adequacy” objectives. Last week, given the “anticipation of the lengthening of the conflictive situation”, they urged their colleagues to issue the payment of pensions and celebrate weddings, tasks carried out by these officials and whose paralysis is causing great damage to citizens.
Before the media, Yáñez has acknowledged that the strike is causing “enormous damage”, but has accused the Ministry of Justice of not doing “much” to reduce the tension. The mobilization began with the Secretary of State for Justice, Tontxu Rodríguez, accusing the lawyers of being “godlike” and of promoting a strike “against the people, without professional purpose.” The conveners, for their part, came to request the dismissal of Llop for saying that they do not write down the revised sentences after the entry into force of the ‘only yes is yes’ law.
Until now, Justice rejects the request made by the promoters to implement the so-called “hook clause”, with which they claim that each lawyer receives 85% of what the judges of their respective judicial bodies receive and that, in addition , the salary mass of the body of lawyers cannot be less than 85% of the salary mass of the judicial career. “This is not a strike by workers who want to make ends meet or endanger their jobs. It is a strike of privileged people who earn between 40,000 and 60,000 euros a year,” said the Secretary of State last Friday after the first meeting between the two parties.
The ‘number two’ of Llop rejected the proposal of the conveners for assuming “two salary increases” for a group that on average will see their salaries grow by 14.76% in the next three years thanks to a rise of 195 gross euros agreed in April of 2021 and the rise that the salaries of civil servants will experience in general.
The conveners, however, defend that Justice has deceived them “at least three times.” As Yáñez explained, the first time was in 2009, when a procedural reform increased the powers of lawyers, although without increasing their remuneration. “The functions arrived and were expanded and others arrived. What did not arrive was the moment of adaptation. We were still the same. Nobody had the intention of adapting us, ”she explained.
After 12 years waiting for a salary adjustment, Justice and the unions agreed in April 2021 to improve the remuneration system for these officials through a supplement of 195 euros gross per month, which represents an increase of 5.26% in their annual salary. But the conveners defend that that “was neither adequate nor was it fair.” In this regard, Yáñez recalled that this led to several strike calls and that they were called off in April 2022, when the ministry promised improvements, including the down payment clause for judges.
“We ask him in writing. They sent it to us in writing and we called off the strike (…) It was a hoax”, they added. As he explained, that agreement contemplated suppressing population groups IV and V —in which lawyers are now assigned to places with fewer inhabitants and with lower salaries— and recognizing the so-called down payment clause for judges, which would allow them to charge a salary equivalent to 85% of a judge’s salary, when their current salary is around 70%. “But September came and nothing had been done. So we started asking for explanations. And they did not call us again or return our calls ”, he affirmed.
This mobilization has caused the suspension of more than 195,000 proceedings between trials, statements and other proceedings, according to data from the conveners. The Ministry of Justice is not offering data on the impact of the strike. And the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) is collecting them through the territorial courts, but the information received is still “partial” and it will not disseminate it until it is comparable data, confirms a spokesperson.
