Judges and prosecutors will meet today with the Ministry of Justice, directed by Pilar Llop, to negotiate a salary update that avoids the indefinite strike that they have already called as of May 16.
At the meeting, three representatives of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) are expected to propose updating the judges’ salaries, thus aligning themselves with three of the four judicial associations that have already formalised a call for an indefinite strike.
It was last Thursday when the Plenary of the Council unanimously agreed that it was “necessary to review and update the remuneration” of the judges “adapting them to the quantitative and qualitative principles” included in the Law on remuneration of judicial and prosecutorial careers and Law Organic of the Judiciary.
The CGPJ explained that the remuneration system for members of the judicial career constitutes a “backbone element of their economic independence, closely linked to the independence in the exercise of judicial power”, as well as “to the realisation of the effective judicial protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens”.
Thus, it concluded that “the adequate institutional space to make these proposals real and effective” was the already convened Remuneration Board, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, and that the members José Antonio Ballestero, Gerardo Martínez Tristán and Juan Martínez Moya would be in charge to participate in the meetings and to bring the proposal.
It is expected that the representatives of the Ministries of Justice and Finance, the CGPJ, the Prosecutor’s Office and professional associations will participate in the Remuneration Table convened at 11 a.m., as established by law “in order to facilitate the periodic adaptation of the remuneration of the members of the judicial and fiscal careers”.
The decision of the CGPJ to take this proposal to the Remuneration Table takes place after last April 24 the Professional Association of the Magistracy (APM), the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV) and the Independent Judicial Forum (FJI) notified in a statement that if an agreement to improve wages was not reached they would go on strike.
In the same statement, the progressive associations Judges and Judges for Democracy (JJpD) and the Progressive Union of Prosecutors (UPF) indicated that they shared the diagnosis and the need for improvements to overcome the “current stagnation” of the judicial system, but they distanced themselves of the threat of a strike by considering it “opportune” to wait for this Wednesday’s meeting.
Last Friday, the APM, the AJFV, FJI, the Association of Prosecutors (AF) and the Professional and Independent Association of Prosecutors (APIF) announced the formal call for an indefinite strike starting on May 16. Legal specified that it was an administrative procedure that they had to complete at least 10 days after the start of the strike, for which reason, as a result of the holidays scheduled for May, they decided to take the step in advance.
Before the formalisation of the call for an indefinite strike, government sources considered that this showed that they did not believe in the Remuneration Table and that they had no “intention to dialogue”, but an “intentionality policy”.
If it materialises, the strike of judges and prosecutors would be the third in Justice so far in 2023. The Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (LAJ) were on hiatus for two months until they achieved a salary increase of up to 450 euro per month. Once this labour conflict was resolved, a new front was opened and the Justice officials began their own indefinite strike on April 17 to achieve a salary improvement “in line” with that of the LAJ.
Within the framework of this scenario, last week the unions of the Justice Administration officials demanded the immediate resignation of the minister due to her attitude towards the conflict, considering that she was “a zero to the left” in the Government, which was “absent” and that she insulted the Administration workers.
Thus, the officials plan to demonstrate this Thursday, at 12 noon, in front of the Ministry of Justice in Madrid. In addition, they have decided to change the format of the indefinite strike and go from partial strikes of three hours a day to total strikes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
From the strike committee they indicated that the negotiation is now at a standstill, but they assured that they trust that with this new pressure the Ministry will summon them again so that now they can start negotiating.
Added to the labour conflict between Justice and officials is that of the lawyers on duty, who marched in Madrid last Thursday, dressed in gowns and chanting “we are lawyers, we are not slaves”, to demand a battery of labour improvements which includes updating the scales, “more reconciliation”, “digital disconnection”, “dignified retirement”. As they warned, if the current situation is not resolved they will carry out central strikes and mobilisations.
Virginia de la Cruz, president of the Association of Lawyers for a Dignified Trade Shift (Altodo), stressed that “many of the actions” they carry out, close to “20%”, are not paid, in reference to the resources and executions that by law they are obliged to present in the procedures they carry out.
“We cannot continue to consent to our working and not being paid,” she said, while insisting on the need to update the scales and modify the law so that lawyers on duty are paid for the services provided to legal entities.
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