Portugal’s judges are going on strike in early October, a move designed to cause maximum upset to the validation process of the local council election results.
Having returned from a six week summer recess, during which the court system was on hold, the nation’s judges are due to 'down gavels' on October 3rd and 4th, blaming Justice Minister Francesca van Dunem for not wanting to enter into ‘pay and status’ talks.
Trade Union Association of Judges says that, as Francisca van Dunem did not want to discuss the status of the judges, it has gone to MPs and wants to open direct talks with parliament.
At stake is the revision of the Statute of Judicial Magistrates for which magistrates have waited for more than ten years and which, according to the trade union, the ministry of justice proved immutable during negotiations.
"After several frustrated attempts to negotiate with the government ... and after sending a letter to the prime minister that was ignored, we are now closing the door on the ministry and turning to MPs," explained the secretary-general of the Union, João Paulo Raposo.
The strike dates in early October are precisely the days during which meetings are held at which judicial magistrates validate the electoral results.
The Union’s gamble, by hoping to open negotiations with judges, is to break the stalemate with van Dumen while somehow not annoying her so much that a deal becomes even more unlikely.
The Union claim that "the statute continues to deny judges professional progress adequate to the dignity of their function," is unlikely to gain much public support but the judges have the power to cripple a justice system that already has failed to embrace reform while being lumbered with the unwieldy Citius IT system with which the courts staff have struggled.
The judges criticise the fact that successive governments continue to postpone what they call the “necessary revaluation of the socio-economic status of judges,” which they claim will guarantee their independence.
This veiled threat of “pay us more or we will be bribed or influenced” is a shameful stance which the minister rightly has not fallen for. The judges' case is not helped by a huge backlog of cases and the general sloth in the justice system with disputes taking years even to be listed for court time. The judges can not take the entire blame for this internationally embarassing situation but remain part of the problem.
Nevertheless, the judges are still committed to pushing through their claim for more money and recognition with MPs and have requested hearings with "all parliamentary groups."
In June this year, Minister Francisca van Dunem announced the removal of all the pay cuts affecting judges’ salaries that had been imposed in 2010 but is in danger of being sidelined in talks unless MPs see the Union's move deliberately is designed to undermine her position.
In an interview in August 2017, the Union's president, Manuela Paupério, said that what was at issue in the planned October strike was not just salary. However, this dispute does boil down to money as the ‘status’ argument will evaporate when the price is right.
