Thousands of hearings and trials already postponed
Workers employed by the Ministry of Justice begin a new strike today in courts and judicial services, “an atypical strike”, explain reports, which will take place in different ways depending on services and districts, and for which the Judicial Staff Union (SFJ) expects “strong mobilization”.
The strike will last until July 14, but is not continuous. The pre-announcement covers May 29-31; June 1 and 2, 5 to 9, 12 to 16, 19 to 23 and 26 to 30 June, as well as July 3 to 7 and 10 to 14.
Decided on and announced a month ago, after previous strikes “had not had the desired results with the Ministry of Justice”, these latest will take place in what the union calls “a creative format” – meaning they will not coincide in districts, timetables or jurisdictions: “the strike may take place in one way and timetable in a judicial court and in a different way in the services of the Public Prosecutor’s Office; or within the same district it may take place in a different way in the different courts that make it up”, says the strike notice.
No minimum services have been decreed, thus the impacts of this new strike are expected to “add to those already being felt in the Justice system since the beginning of the year, with successive strikes postponing thousands of hearings and trials”, says SIC Notícias.
Court workers want to see the Ministry of Justice guarantee career issues such as promotions and the integration of the so-called procedural recovery supplement in salaries.
As with complaints by other public sector syndicates waging strike action these days, “negotiations have not yet produced the results desired”.
SIC gives the SFJ’s take on this situation, but highlights the fact that for everyday citizens trying to resolve pressing often very personal issues these strikes spell an agony of frustrating limbo, with some people seeing hearings delayed already as many as three times.
