The four associations court and the three prosecutors that the past November 19, they called a strike to demand better salaries and working conditions and to defend the independence of the Judiciary have requested this Monday a meeting with the minister of Justice, Dolores Delgado. At that meeting, the seven member associations expect to receive from the Government, “proposals and concrete offers” to their claims. On the day of unemployment last week, the second so far this year, about half of the judges —a 48% according to the General Council of the Judiciary and a 61% according to the organizers— and approximately 40% of the tax supported the mobilization.
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Judges and prosecutors call the minister Delgado to negotiate after the “success” of the strike, justice is thrown to the street in front of one of his own
In an open letter, the associations request that the holder of Justice, “a meeting imminent” to know if the ministry is going to give a response specifically to any of the requests” of the judges and prosecutors, or whether, on the contrary, “nothing new there” in this sense. “The Justice, prosecutors and judges, we understand that you are still in full force and effect our claims. You, as a holder of ministerial, has a lot to contribute positively and negatively to” manifest the Professional Association of Magistrates, the Association Judiciary Francisco de Vitoria, Judges, and Judges for Democracy, a Judicial Forum Independent, the Association of Prosecutors, Association of Professional Independent Prosecutors and the Progressive Union of Prosecutors. This last collective belonged to Dolores Delgado during his time as a prosecutor of the National court before being appointed as minister.
In the meetings leading to the arrest of the 19 Matbet of November, similar to the one convened on the 22nd of may, being minister of the popular Rafael Catalá, the minister Delgado warned the associations that, if the strike took effect, the negotiations on the recovery of wages that were frozen with the crisis or the improvements in media materials would be suspended. In case of that Slim would not convene a new meeting after the mobilization, the associations announced that they will proceed to “act with legal action” they understand “appropriate”.
The incidence of the strike of November 19 was much higher in the local courts than in higher courts, the Audiencia Nacional and the Supreme Court. However, in these organs, although minimally, the strike also left a note. Seven judges of the high court supported the strike, when in may, none did. Thirty judges of the Supreme signed a statement similar to another from last may in which they demonstrate their “repeated and total support” to the demands raised by the strikers, who say they share “entirely”.
The presidents of the high Courts of Justice said in a press release that its “institutional position” prevented them from joining the strike, but supported the “fair and legitimate demands” of the associations. “The serious shortcomings that chronically suffers the Administration of Justice and that the Executive and Legislative powers are still not correct, have resulted in an untenable situation”, they said.
Among other demands, both bodies claim to recover the wages that were frozen during the economic crisis and to improve their conditions and workloads. Spain is the third country with the highest number of lawsuits in the European Union —2017 resolved 5,47 millions of issues— and has 12 judges for every 100,000 inhabitants, approximately half of the average of the countries of the European Union. The organizers are also demanding better media materials to deliver justice and strengthen the independence of the Judiciary.
