Senior criminal lawyers in England and Wales went on strike on Monday in a dispute over pay, just days after railway workers staged walkouts and other sectors threatened industrial action.
Lawyers have threatened a series of strikes in the coming weeks, refusing to take on new cases or represent colleagues as part of the action.
The action stokes fears of a “summer of discontent” as a growing number of key workers’ groups are demanding wage increases to combat rising inflation, which has hit 9.1 percent – a 40-year high.
In London, several hundred lawyers – some dressed in their signature horsehair wigs and black robes – have put up a vigil outside the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey. Other lawyers carried out similar actions in five other cities including Cardiff and Manchester.
Some held up placards that read “£12,200 median earnings first three years, 300 left last year” in a reference to the pay of the youngest barristers, many of whom are leaving the profession.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab – a former lawyer – hit back, saying the strike action was “regrettable” and would “only delay justice for the victims”.
But the lawyers say the strikes are vital to prevent the already creaky criminal justice system, hit by cuts and Covid backlogs, from grinding to a halt.
– “Dreadful” –
Sarah Jones – a senior barrister or Queen’s Counsel (QC) – said that unless action is taken now, “in five years there will be no criminal justice system…there will simply be no one to prosecute and defend.”
“It means that people who are victims will not have specially trained experts fighting their corner and the accused will have no representation and the system will fail,” she told AFP.
Defense attorneys are demanding an immediate at least 15 percent increase in the salary they receive for providing state-funded legal assistance services.
The legal aid system is designed to give low-income defendants access to lawyers.
The government has pledged to implement the proposed 15 percent increase with conditions later this year.
But lawyers say that’s too late and means their incomes won’t increase until the end of 2023.
They say that unlike lawyers, who are involved in more lucrative commercial legal jobs, they make very little per hour because the system is struggling from years of underfunding.
Jones said recruitment problems were “horrendous” and even those who joined often left after a few years because they “can’t afford to pay their bills because they can’t see a future”.
– nurses, teachers –
Mark Watson, deputy secretary of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers in England and Wales, said there was a misconception that barristers were paid well, especially early in their careers.
A criminal attorney would be paid £124 ($152) for a hearing, but that would often require many hours of preparation and travel that often would not be reimbursed, he said.
The CBA says its strike action will last four weeks, with walkouts increasing by a day each week until a five-day strike that begins on July 18.
Last week tens of thousands of rail workers staged three day-long strikes over pay and job security.
The NEU apprentice union is threatening to consult members about possible strikes later in the year if their demands are not met.
National Health Service workers are also demanding higher wages.
In a vote in December, members of the Royal College of Nursing – which includes nurses, midwives and health workers – declared their willingness to strike.
However, since a 50 percent turnout could not be achieved, it could not take place.
Public sector union Unison said this month some of its members in NHS front-line positions but employees at a private company in north-west England voted “overwhelmingly” to go on strike in a dispute over pay and furlough.
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