The LAJ call a demonstration for March 9 after the "unsuccessful meetings" with Justice

MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The strike committee of the Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (LAJ) has called a new demonstration in Madrid for March 9, at 1:00 p.m., after the "unsuccessful meetings" that they have held this week with the Ministry led by Pilar Llop for the indefinite strike that the civil servants began on January 24 in search of a salary increase to compensate for the workload they have assumed in recent years.

In a statement, the three organizing associations have specified that the demonstration will have "the same route as that of January 24"; that is, from Madrid's Plaza de Callao to the Ministry's headquarters at number 45 Calle San Bernardo.

The Progressive Union of Lawyers (UPSJ), the Independent Association of LAJ (AinLAJ) and the Illustrious National College of Lawyers have assured that yesterday, Wednesday, they formulated the authorization for said concentration to the Madrid Government Delegation.

The strike committee has explained that it has adopted this decision after "the unsuccessful meetings this week" in which, as it has stressed, "the ministerial representatives unilaterally decided that communications should take place through the exchange of proposals by email" .

"We understand that this way of relating to the Strike Committee clearly demonstrates their lack of will to resolve the conflict. Despite this, yesterday we sent an email to the ministerial officials responding to their derisory proposal," they have indicated.

In the meeting last Tuesday - the fourth in the framework of the negotiations since the indefinite strike began - ended without an agreement, with reproaches between both parties and without a date for a new meeting. The strike committee accused Justice of presenting an "unacceptable" proposal and of wanting to resolve the strike by email, while the Ministry stressed that the strikers persisted "in asking for a salary increase of about 1,100 euros per month."

In this Thursday's statement, the LAJ have denied having requested said amount. "We have never claimed the amount of 1,100 euros of rise for all the members of our Corps," they have pointed out. "We abide by the commitment of April 2022 and we claim a percentage of 85% of the salary of the corresponding judge or magistrate," they added without specifying any amount.

"We hope that the demonstration will be massive and make it very clear to the ministerial officials, the minister, and the Government that they must attend to our just claims, and resolve a situation that, with their arrogance and intransigence, they themselves have caused", has highlighted the strike committee.

According to the calculations of the conveners, the conflict already leaves 241,000 views suspended and close to 900 million euros blocked by the stoppage. Everything has its origin in "the lack of salary adaptation to the greater functions and responsibilities attributed by Law 13/2009, discharged to judges, and increased in successive reforms", especially that of 2015, which has caused an "unbearable imbalance".

The conveners point out as a "trigger" of the conflict the agreement that Justice signed in December 2021 with the unions of the general bodies "without properly developing the salary adjustment to the latest procedural reforms provided for in the second paragraph of Additional Provision 157 of the Law 11/2020 of the General State Budget for 2021".

In these six weeks, the convening associations --the Progressive Union of LAJ (UPSJ), the Independent Association of LAJ (AinLAJ) and the Illustrious College of LAJ-- have registered a participation of between 85% and 73%, while that the Ministry has observed between 33.92% and 18.9% follow-up.