UK Barristers on strike

Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer

#UnitedKingdom, August 25, 2022 – UK Criminal lawyers have announced they will all go on strike come September 5th, leaving the justice system in limbo. The Criminal Bar Association made the announcement on Monday after the lawyers voted overwhelmingly in approval for the strike action.

“Our members have made the difficult decision to adopt the current action on an indefinite basis from 05 September. This is about more than just money. This is about safeguarding the future viability and fitness of the CJS for all who become involved in it.”
The CBA said.

The lawyers say legal aid pay is too low and are seeking an immediate 25% raise in salary. As it currently stands, Junior Barristers are earning less than the UK minimum wage.

Barristers’ income was cut by more than 28 percent between 2008 and 2018. CBA representative Bryony Molyneux said, “All of those who work within [criminal justice] have had their rates of pay cut and frozen…there is effectively a mass exodus of criminal barristers because the conditions have become so unsustainable, and nobody wants to do the job anymore”

The government offered a delayed 15 percent increase which the lawyers have rejected. The strike will affect cases across England and Wales numbering in the thousands.

The government has described the decision as disappointing.