UK: Trial lawyers vote to strike indefinitely over government funding

The United Kingdom’s Criminal Bar Association announced this week that lawyers in England and Wales who are involved in criminal trials voted to begin striking indefinitely. The strike by the trial lawyers that will take place is part of the dispute over government funding.

Trial lawyers in England and in Wales who are involved in criminal trials were announced Monday to be striking indefinitely.

The strike, which starts next month, was done due to the dispute over government funding, as barristers have already begun taking intermittent action for weeks and refused to take cases or cover cases from colleagues that were overrun.

The CBA said 80 percent of voting members supported the action to go on strike. The CBA said the lawyers would begin an uninterrupted, indefinite walkout from September 5, which is when Boris Johnson’s successor will be announced.

The union also said the previously scheduled strike action would mean the last working day for the lawyers is on August 26.

“It is a decision to which we have been driven after years and years of abject neglect of the Criminal Justice System and the cynical exploitation of our time, effort, and goodwill by successive governments determined to deliver justice on the cheap,” the CBA leaders said in a letter to members when the vote opened to strike.

The British government responded, saying the escalation was “wholly unjustified.” Justice minister Sarah Dines issued a statement saying that the move was “irresponsible” and will only see more delays in justice for victims.

Lawyers who are involved in criminal court cases said real earnings have collapsed, dropping by 28 percent since 2006, with junior barristers having a median income of only £12,000 in the first three years of their career. The CBA is calling for a 25 percent increase in fees for legal aid work.

Aside from lawyers, train and bus workers in London also went on strike Friday last week over wages and working conditions amidst the increasing problem of inflation.

As a result of the strikes, all London Underground and Overground trains were suspended or only partly operational, and dozens of bus routes in the western area of the city were disrupted.