Lawyers say they will meet with Justice "with the intention of solving" and "willing" to be there all weekend

They maintain the indefinite strike that has been going on for almost a month and that has led to the suspension of some 210,000 views and trials

MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The strike committee of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (LAJ) has assured that it will attend the meeting scheduled for Friday at the Ministry of Justice with "the intention of solving" and "willing" to be there all weekend if necessary to reach an agreement that puts an end to the indefinite strike that began on January 24 in search of salary improvements that compensate for the increase in the workload.

In a press conference held this Wednesday, the spokesman for the committee, Juan José Yáñez, assured that they are "willing to speak for as long as necessary" with the Ministry led by Pilar Llop. "All afternoon, all night. We have shown it. All weekend if necessary", he pointed out, later adding that they are not "radical" and that they are "willing to look for alternatives".

Friday's will be the second meeting held by the Ministry and the LAJ after almost a month of indefinite strike by lawyers which, according to the calculations of the organizing associations, has led to the suspension of 210,000 hearings and trials and the blocking of 4,000 million euros. It is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m., although the lawyers have insisted that they can spend more hours.

The meeting will take place a week after both parties sat down at the table and got up -- after more than 15 hours -- without an agreement and with mutual reproaches between the parties for maintaining immovable positions.

In the first press conference called by the strike committee, the lawyers have explained the reasons why they have been on hiatus for almost a month. "We are a discreet body, we do not like to be in the spotlight, we like to be in our offices, we do not like to give a press conference, but we have dignity and that is what they have touched," they have indicated.

The indefinite strike has already reached its 22nd day as a result of the conflict that has its origin in "the lack of salary adaptation to the greater functions and responsibilities attributed." As they have specified, they are demanding an adaptation for the additional workload that has been assigned to them since 2009, something that they consider has not yet arrived and for which they have said they feel "cheated" by the Ministry.

"We are on strike because they have deceived us, at least three times. The first time in 2009, when we were told that we were going to assume many functions and that we would be paid for that responsibility. The functions arrived and were expanded and others arrived. What "It was not the time to adapt. We continued the same. Nobody had the intention of adapting us," Yáñez told the media.

In line, he added that although in 2020 they managed to get the salary adequacy to reach a norm with the force of law of 2021, that "was neither adequacy nor was it fair." He recalled that for this reason they called several days of strike and that they called them off in April 2022, when the Ministry promised them improvements, including the down payment clause for judges. "We asked them in writing. They sent it to us in writing and we called off the strike (...) It was a hoax," he added.

According to what they have reported, that agreement contemplated suppressing groups IV and V and recognizing the so-called down payment clause for judges, which would allow them to receive a salary equivalent to 85% of a judge's salary, when right now they earn around 65%. or 70%. "But September arrived and nothing had been done. Then we began to ask for explanations. And they did not summon us anymore or return our calls," they have pointed out.

This Wednesday, the LAJ strike committee has provided the press with said agreement and its corresponding publication on the website of the Ministry of Justice, dated April 4, 2022, where it is stated that Pilar Llop's team valued "positively the proposal improvement consisting of linking their salaries proportionally to those of the judicial career".

Within the framework of the press conference, they have made it ugly that from Justice "they have not done much to reduce the tension or find an understanding." "They have said that we were on a political strike and have insinuated that our strike had something to do with the scourge of terrorism," he added.

The Secretary of State for Justice, Antonio 'Tontxu' Rodríguez, has repeatedly said that it is a "political" strike that is out of place. After the first meeting with the strike committee, he recalled that they are not workers "who want to make ends meet" but rather "privileged people" who earn between 40,000 and 60,000 euros. He also recalled that they had a 14% salary increase this year.