The second time, it hasn't been the charm either. The meeting between the associations of judges and prosecutors, who continue to threaten a strike on May 16, ended today late in the afternoon without a closed agreement. The Ministry of Justice does seem more willing to settle the issue as soon as possible (the court clerks criticized yesterday that this did not happen to them), so it increased the 44 million euros offered in the first meeting to almost 50. But this offer economics continues to be considered insufficient by the convening professionals. Both parties have been for a third meeting, this Wednesday.
The Ministry of Justice offers these associations three options for this salary increase. A higher increase for those who earn less, a second equal increase for all groups and a third rise to the judicial elite. That would mean an increase in payrolls of between 350 and 490 euros. Judges and prosecutors maintain – due to the purchasing power lost since 2008 – that this increase, to be fair, would have to be 500 euros.
The associations of judges and prosecutors (the progressive ones were also present at that meeting, without joining the threat of strike) maintain that it was the Ministry of Justice that broke the salary balance of the sector, with the increase of up to 450 euros to court clerks, after a historic strike by that group that lasted for almost three months. From Pilar Llop's department it is admitted that there was a drop in wages in 2008 due to the crisis. However, it is emphasized that it is not true that since then these professionals have had their payrolls frozen, since salary increases have been agreed, says the ministry, since 2017 and more increases are planned between now and 2024, of up to 9.5 %.
In this second meeting, the unity between progressive and conservative associations would have been touched, since the former seem more willing to close an agreement now to avoid the bill that the citizen will pay for a new strike in justice (after the strike of the judicial secretaries and the that officials are calling at the moment), while the latter want to continue pulling that negotiation rope to reach that rise of 500 euros in the monthly payroll. We will therefore have to wait until Wednesday, to confirm if the third time is the charm and Justice can close this last drawer of protests in time.
