Simon Hunter
SPAIN’S judges and public prosecutors on Friday formally convened an indefinite strike from May 16 onwards, a period that coincides with the run up to the local and regional elections that will be held across Spain on May 28.
Associations representing the public servants are calling for improvements to their pay, due to the ‘loss of purchasing power’ that they claim they have been suffering since 2009, according to comments reported by agency Europa Press.
On Wednesday, representatives for the judges and public prosecutors will hold a meeting with the Justice Ministry in a bid to resolve the situation and see the strike called off. At that meeting, the CGPJ legal watchdog, which is supporting calls for higher salaries, will propose wage increases.
What’s more, other workers within the Spanish legal system are already pressuring the central government for better conditions, and have been staging indefinite partial stoppages since April 17, something that is affecting Spain’s notoriously slow justice system.
On Tuesday of this week, these workers also announced seven days of general strikes across the sector. According to unions, the stoppages will take place on May 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18. These dates will also coincide with the election campaigning ahead of the May 28 polls.
The industrial action is already having an effect on the system, with the so-called Caso Lezo, a probe into corruption within the conservative Popular Party, put on hold indefinitely due to the disruption.
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