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The
barristers have been taking intermittent action for weeks,
refusing to take on new cases or cover cases for colleagues that
have overrun. The CBA said almost 80% of voting members had
backed escalating that action.
They will move to an uninterrupted, indefinite walkout from
Sept. 5, the day Boris Johnson's successor as prime minister is
due to be announced. Previously scheduled strike action means
the last working day for many will be Aug. 26, the union said.
"It is a decision to which we have been driven after years and
years of abject neglect of the Criminal Justice System and the
cynical exploitation of our time, effort and goodwill by
successive governments determined to deliver justice on the
cheap," the CBA's leadership said in a letter to members when
the strike ballot opened.
The government said the escalation was "wholly unjustified".
"This is an irresponsible decision that will only see more
victims face further delays and distress," Justice Minister
Sarah Dines said in a statement.
Lawyers who act in criminal court cases say real earnings have
collapsed, dropping 28% since 2006, with junior barristers
earning a median income of only 12,200 pounds ($14,412) in their
first three years, forcing many to give up their career.
The CBA wants a 25% rise in fees for legal aid work, where
government funding helps meet the costs of representation for
those who cannot afford it. The government has offered
barristers a 15% pay rise, but the CBA has said the proposal
would not come in until the end of 2023 at the earliest.
British courts already have a backlog of some 58,000 cases,
partly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The strike is the latest in a wave of labour disputes in
Britain, where rail, port and airline workers have staged
walkouts as pay rises fail to keep up with soaring inflation
that is projected to exceed 13% this year.
($1 = 0.8465 pounds)
(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Sachin Ravikumar, editing by
Elizabeth Piper and Hugh Lawson)
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