2022 British barristers' industrial action
Industrial action by Bar Association / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 14 March 2022, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in England and Wales voted to undertake industrial action protesting against stagnant fees with 94% of criminal barristers in favour. The industrial action consisted of refusal to accept returns—substitution of a new barrister, often at the last minute, when another of them is unavailable to make a trial date—in Advocates' Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) (legal aid)-funded cases in the Crown Court. The action began on 11 April 2022.[1][2][3] Almost 2,500 people are participating in the action.[4][5] The CBA did not consider the initial action a strike because its members are under no obligation to accept returns, which it calls "a gesture of goodwill to prop up the criminal justice system".[2][6] Two months later, in June 2022, barristers began an open-ended strike every other week based on a CBA ballot in late May. In October 2022, during the premiership of Liz Truss, barristers voted to end the strike following a deal with then-Secretary of State for Justice, Brandon Lewis.[7]