Judges and prosecutors postpone the strike to continue negotiating a salary increase with the Government

The five associations of the judicial center-right that called an indefinite strike from May 16, in the midst of the electoral campaign, have agreed to postpone the start of the strike to continue negotiating a salary increase with the Government. It is the condition that the Executive put on them this Wednesday to keep the negotiation open at the remuneration table, the body legally established to review the salaries of the almost 8,000 judges and prosecutors, after the last three meetings ended without an agreement.

Conservative judges and prosecutors maintain the strike when they see an increase of almost 500 euros a month as “insufficient”

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The majority and conservative Professional Association of the Magistracy (APM) has been the last to agree to suspend the strike in a long meeting of its management body. And, unlike the rest, it has done so without setting a deadline to resume mobilization if the talks with the Executive fail. In a statement, the APM affirms that its executive has decided to “suspend” the strike “as a gesture of goodwill” and “waiting for the progress that occurs at the remuneration table for the benefit of the interests of the judicial career.” .

It is a decision that had already been made on Wednesday night by the two associations of prosecutors that were supporting the strike —the Association of Prosecutors (AF) and the Independent Professional Association of Prosecutors (APIF)— and the minority of judges Foro Judicial Independiente (FJI ). At first they had set the 19th as the deadline, although they have finally joined the proposal of the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association, the second most representative of the judicial career, which agreed on Thursday morning to delay the start of the strike as of May 22 “to expand the negotiation margin for a few days.”

Both parties will meet again on Tuesday the 16th. It is expected that the Government will then send them a new written proposal, although the associations fear that the Justice and Treasury departments will not put more money on the table and that the new scheme Maintain the salary increase offered to date and limit yourself to proposing issues other than strictly remuneration.

For the moment, the judicial center-right associations —the majority in both careers— insist that the latest offer from the Executive is “insufficient”, which proposes adding more than 46.7 million euros more per year to their salaries, which would increase their salaries. payrolls with between 350 and 490 euros per month, depending on the categories. Only the associations with a progressive tendency —which did not second the strike call pending the progress of the negotiations— have shown themselves willing to accept it and rule out mobilizations. After the last meeting, the representative of Judges and Judges for Democracy, Juan Vacas, described the offer as “serious” and “responsible”, while the president of the Progressive Union of Prosecutors (UPF) said that “it cannot be rejected”. .

It was a meeting that lasted for more than five hours and that again showed the lack of unity of action of the conveners, who did not bring an agreed figure and did not respond in a united way to the Government’s demand to postpone the strike to continue negotiating . The Francisco de Vitoria unsuccessfully proposed at that last meeting a salary increase of 53 million euros, which would mean an average monthly increase of 550 euros gross per month, according to sources from the associations.

It is a figure that is little more than 10% above what the Executive has offered so far and that is very far from the request for maximums from the APM, which last Monday stood out with a request for maximums of 74 millions of euros. In its statement this Thursday, the majority association reiterates that the government’s offer “remains insufficient.” “We must also advance in the adaptation of population groups, in the increase in the payment of trienniums and guards and in other issues that affect the very structure of our remuneration,” they affirm.

The threat of a strike occurs in the context of the great judicial gridlock registered after the lawyers’ strike, which caused the suspension of 350,000 actions between trials, statements and other proceedings and great conflict in the sector. Officials from the judicial offices have been holding indefinite strikes for two weeks and are threatening a total strike as of May 22 if the Executive does not make an economic offer. If finally carried out, it would be the sixth strike by judges and the third by prosecutors in the entire democracy. Although the main novelty is that, in this case, the call has been registered as indefinite.