Prison guards, court officials and the Ministry of Justice return this Friday to sit down with the careers sector as they await decisions on pay rises and career reviews.
From 15:00, Justice Minister Rita Alarcan Giudice will host the Union of Justice Workers (SOJ), followed by the Union of Judicial Servants at 16:15, as well as a joint meeting with the three unions representing prison guards at 17:30: Union Association of Prison Guard Managers, National the Prison Guards Union and the Independent Prison Guards Union.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the meetings this Friday will be aimed at drawing up a protocol of negotiations and presenting assumptions for negotiations between the parties.
The leader of the National Union of Prison Guards (SNCGP), Frederico Morais, told Lusa this week that at a meeting this Friday, the department is expected to present decisions on promotions and additions to the mission, which, like other police forces, is also suing, and which they consider “the fastest way to solve the problem of raising wages” at the moment.
It is unacceptable for the union leader to have prison guards with more than 20 years of experience who have only moved up two pay grades, and quoted Rita Alarcao Judice as saying it was “urgent and necessary to address the problems of prison guards.”
The Union of Judicial Employees (SFJ), which has been maintaining a string of strikes for more than a year demanding a career review and payment of a procedural salary increase payable for 14 months, among other things, has already planned a new strike to begin on May 8 on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
In a meeting with the Minister, SFJ is preparing to demand in the short term the payment of the aforementioned remuneration supplement, which “requires little budgetary effort” as it is currently paid over 11 months, as well as payment for hours extraordinary, emphasizing that the functions require availability for maintenance ” significantly beyond normal hours,” from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
However, in the short term, the union intends to push for the accommodation allowance to “ensure that qualified people can be attracted and retained” and “that there are candidates for positions and that they feel encouraged to pursue their careers”.
In the medium term, the union wants to see an addition to the duty of permanent employment “on the same lines as other professions within the public service” and a revision of the Judicial Officers Statute, a process which the previous socialist chief executive left unfinished, having submitted a revision proposal that drew criticism from trade unions bailiffs, as well as magistrates and the Bar Association.
According to the union’s president, António Marsala, the SFJ intends to approve its proposal to revise the professional status at a congress it is organizing from May 10 to 12 in Anadia, Aveiro, “where the forms of struggle that will prove necessary will be determined.” “.
The union has also scheduled a plenary meeting of union leaders and delegates before the MoJ on May 7.
The Ministry of Justice said it hoped the talks “will be successful and will lead to an end to the long cycle of strikes that has lasted more than 15 years.”
“The government also hopes that it will be possible to restore the normal functioning of the courts and the penitentiary system, as well as guarantee the full implementation by citizens of the constitutional right to access to justice,” the guardianship statement adds.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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