Criminal barristers in England and Wales have voted in favour of an escalation of strike action.
The Criminal Bar Association, which represents lawyers prosecuting and defending those accused of crimes in England and Wales, said its members had backed a plan to go on strike “on an indefinite basis” from Monday 5 September.
They join rail staff, teachers and civil servants in backing or considering industrial action over the coming months at a time when pay awards are lagging behind the four-decade high rate of inflation.
The CBA has said its members have suffered an average decrease in earnings of 28% since 2006 – when taking inflation into account – and has accused the government of refusing to engage in negotiations “aimed at finding a fair settlement” to demands, which include the call for an immediate 15% increase in fees.
CBA members have been walking out on alternate weeks, but were balloted on whether to escalate the industrial action.
The 14-day ballot closed at midnight on Sunday and the result was announced on Monday morning.
A total of 2,273 members cast their vote with an overwhelming majority – 79% – backing an uninterrupted strike.
CBA vice chair Kirsty Brimelow QC said this was “last-resort action”.
“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 £1.1 million per month,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“Currently, it’s costing much more for the courts to sit empty.”
More than 6,000 court hearings have been disrupted as a result of the dispute over conditions and government-set fees for legal aid advocacy work, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
Data released under freedom of information laws show that during the first 19 days of industrial action – between 27 June and 5 August – 6,235 court cases were disrupted, including 1,415 trials.
