Court officials today await proposed legislation with skepticism

This Monday, the Minister of Justice receives the judiciary unions to present the government’s proposal to revise the professional status of the class – a document that the unions are awaiting with skepticism.

“The Minister of Justice says that she is responding to our demands, but I remember that the previous government of António Costa said the same thing and the text was eventually shelved after some unconstitutional violations were pointed out,” Union President Lusé said of Judicial officials (SFJ), António Marsal, who lowers the bar of expectations for this Monday’s meeting.

Regarding the above-mentioned unconstitutionalities, he expressed the hope that the fact that the current Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento y Castro, is a judge of the Constitutional Court will allow him to develop a proposal without these inconsistencies.

Carlos Almeida, president of the Union of Bailiffs (SOJ), is adamant: “The statute does not solve the problems of bailiffs or justice.”

“We are going to the meeting in good faith, but we are not so naive as to think that there is a solution to the problems of bailiffs,” he told Lusa, naming, for example, issues of wages and reminding that “this is not because the likelihood that SOJ’s notices of strikes, which have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, make no mention of a review of the Charter.

Carlos Almeida criticizes the fact that the current government has “never listened to the unions on this issue”, adding that he expects a proposal to revise the I Will, I Can and I Command statute, and stating that “good results are unlikely will be achieved.” be achieved” in the negotiation process.

Regarding the negotiations, SOJ says the government has informed it that they will take place in November, with three negotiation meetings and one follow-up meeting planned if necessary.

“The month may not come if the proposal does not meet our demands, otherwise the workers will go to fight,” guaranteed Carlos Almeida, who calls for the adoption of a Statute that “respects and values ​​the careers of judicial officials.” “.

SFJ’s António Marsal hopes that the new proposal will not lead to a re-emergence of career disputes, since the Statute “applies only to some categories and not to others”, as well as access to management categories through the service commission, i.e. appointment. instead of assessing merit, saying that this would jeopardize the independence of justice, and this problem does not only arise with judges and prosecutors.

The SFJ President also hopes that this moment will be used to review the professional competencies and responsibilities of the class in accordance with the recommendations of the European Union, saying that it would be important to improve the functioning of the courts by eliminating the “bureaucratic burden” that falls on judges and prosecutors and which can provide court officials.

“It would be a victory. Let’s see. There are many doubts, but I believe that for our governments the public interest prevails,” said António Marsal.

Since the beginning of the year, judicial employees have been on strike several times, demanding, depending on the union, a revision of the Charter, career advancement and increased hiring, as well as the payment of a procedural allowance integrated into the salary, as already promised. and arrived for inclusion in the state budget, but was never implemented.

SFJ insists that compliance with this demand is a non-negotiable condition for the cancellation of strikes planned until the end of the year, and also insists that a review of the Articles of Association is not necessary for payments to be made in accordance with the union. requires. .

However, the Minister of Justice has always referred the solution to this issue to the revision of the Regulations on Judicial Officials.

A meeting to present the document is scheduled for 18:00 at the Ministry of Justice.