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Barristers begin month of strikes in row over legal aid fees
Barristers walked out of courts in Bristol in a dispute over legal aid funding, as they warn the profession is in “national crisis” due to lack of funding.
Along with dozens dressed in full wigs and gowns outside Bristol Crown Court on Monday, barrister Kannan Siva said: “The future of our criminal justice system is in jeopardy.”
The strike is an escalation of a dispute between criminal defence barristers and ministers over legal aid rates – in which lawyers claim have fallen in real terms by about 28 per cent over the past decade.
is needed now More than ever
Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers in England and Wales, claim that government funding cuts to the system has seen them working longer hours for less money, leading to some exiting the profession.
But the strikes mean that court cases at which barristers are required are likely to have to be delayed – worsening the backlog crisis.
Other picket lines are being staged across the country – at the The Old Bailey, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester courts.
Barristers have walked out of Crown Court on Small Street today in a dispute over legal aid funding. #BarristerStrike #Action4Justice #Bristol pic.twitter.com/trCkNrOiuA
— Betty Woolerton (@bettywoolerton) June 27, 2022
The CBA said around 81.5 per cent of its 2,000 plus members supported strikes. Of those who backed walkouts, 43.5 per cent voted to refuse new cases too.
It said incomes have fallen nearly 30 per cent in the last 20 years and specialist criminal barristers make an average annual income after expenses of £12,200 in the first three years of practice. The association is calling for a 25 per cent rise in pay to make up for years of real terms reductions.
But justice secretary Dominic Raab said the strike “will only delay justice for victims”.
Raab commented: “It’s regrettable that the Criminal Bar Association is striking, given only 43.5 per cent of their members voted for this particular, most disruptive, option.
“I encourage them to agree the proposed 15 per cent pay rise which would see a typical barrister earn around £7,000 more a year.”
A CBA spokesperson said the pay rise would not land immediately since it would not apply to backlogged cases.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) June 27, 2022
Speaking from the picket line on Small Street, Siva told journalists that the criminal justice system has been “starved of resources”.
He said: “This is a national crisis, and it must be dealt with as a national emergency. Our action today will bring public attention to the threat that is faced by the criminal justice system.
“We take this action in the name of citizens of this country because it is their justice system that we are determined to protect. We will not sit idly by and watch its destruction. We will do what we have been trained to do, which is fight for justice.”
The strikes are set to last four weeks, with walkouts on Monday and Tuesday and increasing by one day each week until a five-day strike from Monday, July 18 to Friday, July 22.
The walkout is the first by criminal barristers since 2014 who join other professions striking this month – including rail workers.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read more: ‘People are struggling’: Voices from the rail strike
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