Lawyers from the Department of Justice (LAJ) with banners during a demonstration from Callao to San Bernardo Eduardo Parra (Europa Press)
More than a thousand lawyers from the judicial administration – 1,200 people according to the government delegation and more than 1,500 according to the strike committee – mobilized this Thursday to demand the resumption of negotiations with the ministry led by Pilar. They have been on indefinite strike action since January 24 to demand pay rises for the newly assumed roles and responsibilities. “We want them to invite us to talk about the problem and solve the claims of one and the other in an organized way and sit around a table,” explained Ernesto Casado, President of the National College of Lawyers (CNLAJ), one of them the associations are calling for a strike. The demonstrators gathered at 1 p.m. in Callao Square in Madrid, from where they went to San Bernardo Street. “Pilar, go out and negotiate” and “It lies, agrees and doesn’t comply,” shouted the lawyers outside the Justice Department headquarters.
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After several meetings that ended without an agreement, the last meeting between the strikers and the Ministry, chaired by the Secretary of State for Justice, Tontxu Rodríguez, and the Secretary General for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service, Manuel Olmedo, took place last Tuesday. The department led by Llop chose to continue negotiations via email. The President of the College opposes this measure, insisting that the judiciary publishes “any document” that the lawyers send, thus failing to make the trial public.
“Things are the same as a week ago,” criticized Casado at this second demonstration. Justice Department sources assured Efe they were waiting for a “counter-proposal” in which officials would present “something other than their maximum proposal,” the so-called down payment clause. Lawyers for the administration of justice are demanding a salary increase that will bring their salary to 85% of that of the judges. The strikers “have not deviated from this demand since the strike began”, which “is tantamount to a refusal to negotiate” and makes it “nonsensical” to resume dialogue, the same sources argue.
In separate interviews with EL PAÍS, the two parties to the conflict have confirmed their positions: neither Tontxu Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Justice, nor Xoán Xosé Yáñez, spokesman for the strike committee of lawyers in the judicial administration, see a solution. While Rodríguez claims that the lawyers’ salaries have already been increased by 14.5% – and that he is considering retiring from their posts rather than accepting new salary increases – Yáñez insists that the agreement with the ministry will be honored.
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According to the latest data from the strike committee, the strike has so far left 350,000 claims pending distribution, suspended 300,000 court cases and paralyzed around 1,000 million euros. The average balance of the courts’ consignment account is expected to reach 6,000 million euros. On Monday, the minister met with lawyers and lawyers to discuss the consequences of the strike and ruled out declaring the month of August a working day, stopping a rumor that was spreading in the sector due to the congestion in the courts . Llop urges lawyers to be “realistic” and come up with new proposals.
Accepting his request for an advance payment clause on judges’ and prosecutors’ salaries, Justice said, would mean a monthly increase in his salary of “more than a thousand euros” per civil servant, between €40,000 and €60,000 gross per year. The lawyers denounce that they have accumulated new roles and workload without compensation and accuse the ministry of breaching the commitments made with the group in April 2022.
“This is a matter of dignity and we will not stop until we reach a fair agreement,” stressed Casado. Monitoring unemployment on Wednesday – the last day with data – was 20.73% according to the judiciary and 73% according to strikers. The strike committee reiterated in a statement that “yet again they have set a new milestone” and called the demonstration a success. “This body has once again demonstrated its unity and that it is very much alive and does not shy away from the attacks coming at us from the ministry and some of its media,” the committee said. In the letter, they urge Llop again: “Enough excuses, stick to the agreements and if you and your ministerial team cannot keep your word: resign.”