Call for Government to understand barristers' 'hardship' as strike action is approved

Around eight in 10 members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) voted for the action to begin on September 5 due to a dispute over jobs and pay.

Ministers have called the escalation "wholly unjustified" considering criminal barristers will receive a 15 per cent fee rise from the end of next month.

But his increase – meaning they will earn £7,000 more per year – has been criticised for not being made immediately and only applying to new cases.

It means the boost in fees will not affect the sizeable backlog of cases, caused by the pandemic, waiting to be cleared in courtrooms across the country.

Michelle Heeley QC, leader of the Midlands Circuit and barrister at No5 Barristers' Chambers, said: "For the last several months, the CBA has attempted to motivate the Government through a variety of actions to bring attention to the low pay junior barristers under three years call receive in this country.

"For just £12,700 a year, these young and eager professionals work an average of 60-hour weeks. That equals just over £4 an hour. Both prosecuting and defending members of the public, junior barristers uphold our right of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for less than minimum wage.

"The proposal given to the CBA by the Government offers a £7,000 annual pay increase, something that would help if implemented immediately. On the contrary, this raise would only come into effect on new cases charged after September 30 and wouldn’t apply for those currently sat in the crown court backlog, which presently sits at over 60,000.

"With a waitlist that long, many cases aren’t seeing the inside of a courtroom for more than 700 days. The outcome of this is that Junior Barristers wouldn’t see this increase for over two years.

“The Criminal Justice System cannot continue to underpay the youngest members of our profession and expect people to join the industry. Without personal financial backing and sacrifice, many barristers cannot afford this line of work, resulting in 25 per cent leaving for more lucrative sectors.

“It is because of this that we have chosen to strike. The Criminal Justice System will shut down until we can work with the government to create a solution that starts to address the many issues the crown court currently faces.”

Meanwhile criminal barrister Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, speaking to Sky News outside of Wolverhampton Crown Court, said the all-out strike action showed the majority of barristers felt the same way.

She said: The 15 per cent (offered by the Government) will turn into £7,000 which the Government say will be in our pockets, but that simply is not the truth.

"Over the past 16 years, there has been a 28 per cent cut in income so the 15 per cent simply does not come near and it's not something will be in our hands any time soon.

"What you have to consider is that we're self-employed individuals – I have come to Wolverhampton today, which is not my home court. I pay my expense in getting here up front – nobody is helping me out with that.

"Now if you're going around the country as people from my chambers do, and people from many other chambers will do, you have to bear those costs up front. You have to do all the preparatory work that simply is not covered by the fees that you ultimately get at the end of proceedings.

"So the Government needs to understand the hardship that criminal barristers, like myself, like those who have been here before me, and like those who might chose to follow, are facing."

According to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures, more than 6,000 court hearings have been disrupted a result of the dispute over conditions and Government-set fees for legal aid advocacy work.

Data released under freedom of information laws show that during the first 19 days of industrial action – between June 27 and August 5 – there were 6,235 court cases disrupted, including 1,415 trials, across England and Wales.

Justice Minister Sarah Dines said: "This is an irresponsible decision that will only see more victims face further delays and distress.

"The escalation of strike action is wholly unjustified considering we are increasing criminal barristers' fees by 15 per cent, which will see the typical barrister earn around £7,000 more a year."

The MoJ previously said it had "repeatedly explained" to the CBA that backdating pay would require a "fundamental change" in how fees are paid, adding: "That reform would cost a disproportionate amount of taxpayers' money and would take longer to implement, meaning barristers would have to wait longer for payment."