Court cases across the UK are set for more serious disruption as barristers plan an indefinite strike set to start on September 5.
The strike is part of ongoing disputes that began in June 2022 over pay and working conditions between the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) and the government.
The walkout is designed to draw attention to the long hours worked and little pay received by criminal defence barristers, as they cope with a justice system straining at the seams.
The CBA is demanding a 25% pay rise after rejecting an increased offer of 15%.
Rallies will be held outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, and other courts in Nottingham, Birmingham and Liverpool, despite already being offered an increase of £7,000 for an average criminal barrister.
How much do UK criminal defence lawyers earn?
The government has said the average yearly income for a criminal barrister in 2019-20 was £79,800, nearly £55,000 more than the average person makes in the UK.
How does that compare to the average salary of other professions?
- Teachers earn an average of £32,000 (reed.com)
- Nurses make an average of £32,000 (nurses.co.uk)
- Engineers take home £42,000 a year on average (reed.com)
However, despite the average criminal barrister earning just shy of £80,000, the CBA has pointed out most junior barristers make less than the minimum wage.
It says specialist criminal barristers make an average annual income after expenses of £12,200 in their first three years of practice.
For barristers in all fields across the board, according to a 2020 report by the Bar Standards Board, just 2% of barristers earn over £1million a year and 24% make between £150,000 and £500,000.
Why are barristers striking?
CBA chair Jo Sidhu accused the government of mismanaging the justice system and considerably underfunding it.
Courts in England and Wales currently have a backlog of 58,000 cases and due to protests last week, eight in 10 court proceedings at London’s Old Bailey were either cancelled or disrupted.
The president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association, Hesham Puri, has confirmed his members may also join the protest.
Kirsty Brimelow QC, vice chair of the CBA, previously told BBC Breakfast: “The remedy is for an injection of money into the backlog of cases, which currently stands at 60,000 cases, that barristers are working on that will cost the government only £1.1m per month.
"Currently, it’s costing much more for the courts to sit empty.”
She also stated that the strikes are a "last resort" to bring the situation to a close.
Official figures suggest that for every full working week that criminal barristers strike, around 1,300 cases, including 300 trials, will be disrupted.
