The national secretary of the Union of Judicial Employees (SFJ) today referred the response to the new statute for bailiffs to a general assembly, but said that the government’s proposal shows “anything but respect” for the professionals.
“With the document we’ve been presented with, I don’t think the struggles will stop because it’s a disregard for what we wanted. We never asked to be given a raise, we asked to be valued, we asked for the supplement that we were told several times would be included in the statute,” warned Gabriela Mota.
On Monday, the government presented court clerks with a proposal to revise their careers, with an estimated impact of 20 million euros a year and which will turn some of these professionals into advisors to magistrates.
The proposal provides for the division of the career into two categories, a monthly supplement of 20% and an increase of 100 euros in the entry-level salary.
“The statute that has been presented to us is anything but respectful of the bailiffs. The bailiffs are here and will continue to fight, showing the guardianship that we are needed in all the courts, that the courts can’t function without us,” said Gabriela Mota, speaking to Lusa on the sidelines of a protest at the trial of the EDP case, which was scheduled to start today but was postponed.
According to Gabriela Mota, the fighting actions “were made and decided at a general meeting”. Therefore, “there will also be a general meeting and the maximum number of members will decide what we are going to do”.
On Monday, the president of the SFJ, António Marçal, admitted to “a waiting period” and “good faith negotiations”, interrupting the ongoing strikes in order to negotiate an improvement to the proposed Statute, while the Union of Judicial Officers (SOJ) remained unyielding in its protest.
The president of the SOJ, Carlos Almeida, accused the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, of presenting the unions with “a rehashed document” that had essentially already been rejected by the unions in 2021, and therefore considers that “there is nothing to stop the strike”.
“We have three demands and these three demands, we have always said and been very clear about, have to be answered. If they are not met, the strike will continue. There are things that money can’t buy, $20 million can’t buy and principles can’t be bought. We don’t float around, we demand respect for people and the career we represent,” said Carlos Almeida.
