Criminal Barristers in England and Wales have gone on strike in a long-running dispute over pay.
Eight out of ten cases at London’s Old Bailey were affected by the walkout, barristers outside the court have said.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the strikes will delay justice, as courts already face an unprecedented backlog of 60,000 cases.
Barristers have rejected the government proposal of a 15% rise in fees for undertaking legal aid work and will be taking action over the next four weeks.
Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have rejected that proposal and called instead for a minimum 25% wage increase. Jo Sidhu QC, chair of the CBA, said they had already lost 25% of specialist criminal barristers over the last few years, with 300 leaving in the last twelve months.
Kirsty Brimelow QC, deputy chair of the CBA, said the proposed rise in legal aid fees would not be introduced until the end of next year. By then, she said it will be too late to help and will not do enough to stop junior barristers leaving the profession.
Under the legal aid system in England and Wales, the government pays for Solicitors & Barristers to ensure the accused who cannot afford lawyers, are properly advised and represented. The government sets pay rates for all Lawyers doing legal aid work.
Groups of barristers have been rallying outside the Old Bailey in their robes and wigs. Two murder trials at the court, one involving a suspect in his teens, were unable to get started.
Others have been striking outside a number of courts across England and Wales, including Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol Crown Courts.
The most senior Judge in England and Wales, The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, has said that those who have decided to join the strike action could face disciplinary proceedings for misconduct, if they do not attend court.
Downing Street has urged barristers to agree to the proposal of a 15% pay rise, which a spokesperson said would see the average barrister earn an additional £7,000 a year.
Junior barristers are working for a “pittance” – and sometimes for nothing at all if cases are adjourned, barrister and author Chris Daw said. He said that the 15% pay rise proposed by the government would not make any difference and will be simply “wiped out by inflation” by the time it comes into effect. If nothing changes, he said strike action could go on until August “or beyond”. The number of lawyers working in criminal justice, both Barristers who appear before Judges in courts and the Solicitors who instruct them, has declined over the last decade, as many say they cannot make a living when they take on cases funded by legal aid.
But Ms Brimelow, speaking outside Manchester Crown Court, said the system had run on “good will” for a long time, including throughout the pandemic, with junior barristers working “ridiculous hours.” She said the issue had been caused by government, not by barristers.
The strikes start with walkouts on Monday and Tuesday and, for four weeks, increase by one day each week until a five-day strike is held from Monday 18 July to Friday 22 July.
