Since the end of January, the 4,300 lawyers of the Justice Administration have been on indefinite strike. Without reaching a solution so far after several hours of negotiation that have come to nothing, «from the Spanish Association of Consumers we understand that the functioning of the courts and tribunals is being seriously damaged, causing the suspension of thousands of hearings».
«From ASESCON we understand the unease of these workers of the Administration of Justice who have essential functions in the judicial procedures as they distribute the work of the Judicial Office. Therefore, they assume the responsibility of the administrative services of the office and are in charge of the implementation of the procedures: they admit the claims for processing and, in addition, they are responsible for preparing the proceedings and developing the judicial procedure until a sentence is passed and, also, of the procedures for its execution. In addition, their functions include that of judicial public faith, i.e. they record the performance of procedural acts before the courts, as well as collaboration with other bodies and administrations, such as the Tax Administration».
The strike organisers are demanding that the Ministry of Justice bring their salaries into line with their A1 group status and the 300 functions they took on with the 2009 law reform. In addition, they demand their own collective bargaining framework in which professional associations can play a more prominent role. And, finally, they request that the particularities of this group be included in the Occupational Risks Regime of the Ministry of Justice, as they are the ones who go to the searches related to criminals together with the State Security Forces and Corps.
On this basis, given that these are more than justified demands, «we ask the Ministry of Justice to work to find a solution to this serious problem for citizens who are users of the justice system and who see that their procedures are being delayed even more than they already were. We must bear in mind that one of the serious problems in this country is the delays in the justice system».