The opening negotiation meeting, described by the strike committee unions as a disappointment, concluded this Thursday without a deal or any new economic proposals on the table. The session involved justice administration officials and ministry representatives, and it did not bridge the gap between the parties.
Javier Jordán, who leads Justice for the CSIF—a dominant union in the sector—said the ministry presented itself without any financial offers. He noted that the unions would carry on with the daily partial strikes currently in effect, a program that has run from ten in the morning to one in the afternoon since Monday, with the continued aim of pressuring a resolution.
After roughly five hours, the meeting, chaired by the ministry under the leadership of the secretary general Manuel Olmedo, did not move the positions closer together. Both sides expressed a firm intent to keep negotiating and agreed to reconvene at the ministry next Monday at twelve thirty.
At around 4:30 p.m., union representatives from CSIF, CCOO, INTERNSHIP, and UGT arrived at the ministry seeking a credible offer from Pilar Llop’s department, but perceived only cautious progress. They urged colleagues to maintain pressure, a stance echoed by organizers and officials who highlighted a large Madrid demonstration the day before that attracted thousands of participants, with estimates ranging from about seven thousand to ten thousand people.
Today the strike drew support from approximately 45,000 civil servants, most of whom belong to the Management, Processing, and Legal Aid divisions, though specialists in forensic medicine and the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science were also represented among the workers. The demand centers on a further salary increase of roughly 430 to 450 euros gross per month, aligned with a recent agreement reached with Justice administration lawyers, and the suspension of the parliamentary process. There is also pressure to pause the Organic Law of Organizational Efficiency LOEO, which would alter the organization of judicial services.
CSIF, the leading union within the justice sector, estimated that about 85 percent of workers supported partial strikes on Thursday. The ministry, however, reported a rate of 19.43 percent across autonomous communities that have not delegated justice authority, including Murcia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.
Only on Wednesday, when the usual partial stoppages did not apply but a full 24-hour strike took place, was there a recording by Jordán of roughly 100,000 pending cases and a paralysis affecting between one and a half million and three million procedural actions. The strike committee has made clear it will not cancel mobilizations unless a concrete offer is presented, maintaining two core demands: the suspension of LOEO until negotiations with the unions are completed, and a fair recognition and accountability for the duties carried out by both the general and specialized bodies within the justice administration.