More than a thousand lawyers from the Administration of Justice across Spain, roughly 1,200 in total, marched on Thursday to the Ministry of Justice under the leadership of Pilar Llop, pressing to restart negotiations that have stalled for about six weeks. They demanded wage improvements, a stance reported by the EFE news agency.
Ernesto Casado, a member of the strike committee and president of the National College of Lawyers, stated: “We want the government to invite us to talks, address the issue in an organized way, and sit at the negotiating table with the parties involved.” The CNLAJ, one of three associations backing the strike, indicated that contact with the authorities was still needed, as recorded in press briefings.
Demonstration of forensic lawyers in Madrid. Daniel Gonzalez / EFE
Following four unsuccessful meetings, various proposals, and mutual accusations, the last round of talks occurred last Tuesday between the strikers and the Ministry. Tontxu Rodríguez, minister of state for justice, and Manuel Olmedo, the Secretary General for Innovation and Quality in the Public Justice Service, were present.
Consequently, the ministry led by Llop communicated via email, a move that the Justice department rejected after confirming that no document published by the lawyers had been made public, Casado explained.
manifestation
About 1,200 participants gathered in Madrid, according to figures from the Government Delegation. By 1:00 p.m., they wore their aprons in Plaza de Callao and stood on San Bernardo street in front of the Ministry of Justice, chanting slogans such as: “Pilar, come out and bargain” and “to accept and not comply is lying.” A prominent LAJ representative from Alicante joined the protest.
In this second demonstration since the strike began on January 24, the protesters argued that nothing had changed since the previous week, with Casado noting that the situation remained the same.
From the Justice side, the response was that the decision now lay with the government. Ministry sources told EFE that they awaited an explanation for the opposition’s offer, and suggested that a downward move in the negotiation would reveal something different from the maximum offer previously presented, described as a down payment clause.
With the lawyers defiantly carrying their banner, they demanded that judges and prosecutors not be paid less than 85 percent of their established salaries.
Authorities indicated that the strikers had not signaled a willingness to return to talks since the start of the strike, which would be seen as a rejection of negotiations and hinder discussions from resuming.
Latest figures from the strike committee estimate that the strike has had immediate effects: roughly 350,000 cases awaiting delivery, around 300,000 trials suspended, and about 1,000 million euros frozen. The average balance in the courts’ liquidity account was projected to approach a critical level, near 6,000 million euros.
Last Monday, the minister met with lawyers to discuss the implications of the strike, and noted that a previously circulating rumor about a traffic jam in the courts had been addressed. Llop urged realism and stressed the need for new proposals, while the Justice department noted that accepting a wage-down demand for judges and prosecutors would imply an increase of more than a thousand euros per month, placing the annual gross range between 40,000 and 60,000 euros per officer.
The lawyers accused the Ministry of piling on new duties and workload without fair compensation, pointing to commitments made in April 2022 as evidence of broken promises.
“This is a matter of honor, and the resolution must be fair,” Casado affirmed. By the end of the day, unemployment figures remained contentious, with Justice reporting 20.73 percent and the strikers putting the figure at 73 percent.