They assure that the collective conflict will not be resolved if Rodríguez remains in office
MADRID, 23 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Progressive Union of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (UPSJ), the Independent Association of Lawyers (AinLAJ) and the National College of Lawyers have called for the dismissal of the Secretary of State for Justice, Antonio ‘Tontxu’ Rodríguez, to say this Monday in a press conference that the call for an indefinite strike scheduled for Tuesday morning is “political”, “without any professional purpose” and “against the people”.
In a joint statement, the three associations that have promoted the strike of the Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (LAJ) have assured that “if the Ministry of Justice wants a solution to this collective conflict to be reached at some point, this will inevitably lead to the need to remove the Secretary of State”.
“Neither the Superior Body (even if they want to deny it) of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice, nor the other legal operators, nor of course the citizens, deserve a politician like Mr. Rodríguez,” the signatories have pointed out.
The three associations have criticized the tone of the Secretary of State for Justice and have ensured that his words “portray him”. “His lies about him, his defamations and his allegedly hurtful verbiage only disqualify him from carrying out his position. No one with that language, with such irresponsibility, can continue to hold public office,” they have indicated.
The UPSJ, AinLAJ and the National College of Lawyers have stressed that Rodríguez’s statements ratify them “morally and professionally” in their intention to “demand to the last consequences a fair salary adjustment”, as well as “a framework of independent representation and own, in which the relationship with the institutional powers is clearly bilateral”.
In the press conference called this Monday by Justice, the Secretary of State stressed that the associations “are not unions” and that, therefore, participation in collective bargaining is not recognized in the Constitution.
On the sidelines, Rodríguez has criticized the attitude of the three conveners of the indefinite strike, considering that the measure “has no labor reason”, but rather “clear political reasons”. For the Secretary of State, “any claim by this group is out of place.”
“It is absolutely imprudent”, the high official of the Ministry has insisted after recalling that “those who start a strike tomorrow earn between 79% and 140% more than other officials of the Administration of Justice of the same levels”; a figure to which, as he recalled, must be added the 9.5% increase in civil servants. According to the calculations of the Ministry, the salary of a LAJ ranges between 30,000 and 59,000 euros per year.
Thus, Rodríguez has stressed that “the LAJ have seen their salary increased by 14%”, something “that has no comparison” with other officials. “They are the ones that earn the best at their levels,” he said, later stressing that “the LAJ are not judges, they are not prosecutors and they will not be.”
In line, the ‘number two’ of Pilar Llop has assured that the Ministry has “complied with what the associations have been demanding” and that they have held “36 meetings in 11 months”. “The coup leaders call this non-compliance,” she pointed out.
The Lawyers of the Administration of Justice will begin an indefinite strike on Tuesday, with the consequent “risk of paralysis” of the courts and tribunals throughout the country, in demand for a salary improvement equivalent to the increase in the workload they suffered years ago without then being compensated.
The ‘sine die’ stoppage is the result of the labor conflict that they have had for months with Justice and that has led them to star in specific strikes — which forced the suspension of trials and statements, including some of the so-called ‘Villarejo case’ in the National Court– and concentrations.
Within the framework of the strike planned for tomorrow, the three associations have called a demonstration in the Plaza de Callao in Madrid, at 1:00 p.m., which will go to the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice on San Bernardo street.
