{"id":23119,"date":"2022-08-22T05:25:12","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T09:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=23119"},"modified":"2022-08-22T05:25:12","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T09:25:12","slug":"criminal-barristers-in-england-and-wales-vote-to-go-on-all-out-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/08\/22\/criminal-barristers-in-england-and-wales-vote-to-go-on-all-out-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminal barristers in England and Wales vote to go on all-out strike"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Barristers have voted to go on an indefinite, uninterrupted strike in England and Wales from next month.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The walkout by members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) will begin on 5 September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Until now, members have been striking on alternate weeks in a dispute with the government over pay, working conditions and legal aid funding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The strikes are expected to delay thousands of cases, leaving victims and the accused waiting longer for justice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The current strike action means members are already scheduled to strike on 30 August, meaning members’ last working day will be on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Out of 2,273 votes cast, an overwhelming 1,808 members voted to escalate the strike, while 258 were in favour of continuing the current action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Justice Minister Sarah Dines said the decision was “wholly unjustified”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is an irresponsible decision that will only see more victims face further delays and distress,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kirsty Brimelow QC, vice-chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said the strike action was a last resort.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She told BBC Breakfast: “It’s unprecedented, this level of action. However, there have been warning signs of this coming for many years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Barristers have had to endure collapses in their income and cuts and underfunding so that their income has decreased over 28% since around 2006.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Court cases are not going ahead because there are not enough barristers to defend or prosecute, Ms Brimelow said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A solution to the dispute would be an “injection of money” into the cases that barristers were working on, she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The remedy is for an injection of money into the backlog of cases, which currently stands at 60,000 cases, that barristers are working on, that will cost the government only \u00a31.1m per month,” Ms Brimelow said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Currently, it’s costing much more for the courts to sit empty.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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