Without the minimum services decreed by the Arbitration College for the strike of judicial employees declared for December 20, the Ministry of Justice (MJ) appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, in an urgent process. The decision came this Wednesday, four months later, when there was one day left before the strike ended, and after the MJ had denounced the missing sentence, and after 12 people detained as a result of this strike had been released.
In advance notice of the strike called by the Judicial Employees Union (SFJ), in December 2023, starting on December 20, 2023 and ending on April 26, 2024, in the mornings, on Wednesdays and Fridays, minimum services were not recommended by that union. The Arbitration College also did not decide on these minimum services. The Ministry of Justice (MJ) then appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL), in an urgent process. The decision came this Wednesday, with one day left before the strike ended, and a few hours after the MJ publicly denounced that that court was still not making a decision.
The controversy arose this Wednesday, following a demonstration by the SFJ at the Campus da Justiça, in Lisbon. A source from that union, cited by Lusa, said that due to the strike, without minimum services, at least 12 detainees were released in the Lisbon metropolitan area, involving cases of homicide, domestic violence and drug trafficking.
Afterwards, the president of the SFJ, António Marçal, explained that the absence of minimum services on the days around April 25th resulted from the “pure incompetence” of the Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice (DGAJ), which “did not well substantiate the request” of minimum services made to the arbitration college.
Marçal recalled that, in previous situations, in which strikes were scheduled for periods that covered, for example, municipal holidays, the DGAJ took this into account, requesting that minimum services be decreed for services in the territorial area covered by the municipal holiday, which was granted.
“The specific situation [do feriado do 25 de Abril] was not raised by the DGAJ. By wanting to attribute responsibilities to the union, the minister is going down a bad path”, criticized Marçal, who added that there was no contact on the part of the supervisory authority with the union in an “attempt to coordinate the situation”.
As a result of these reactions, the MJ appeared to give explanations, with Minister Rita Júdice herself, in an unprecedented gesture, publishing the text on her personal LinkedIn page.
The MJ said: “The obligation to indicate minimum services (SM) is the responsibility of the union that intends to call a strike; This indication must be made at the time of the strike notice; If there is no agreement between the public employer and the union, the SM are defined and decreed by the Arbitration College; The decision on the SM of the Arbitral College can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.”
It continues later: “In the advance notice of the strike called by the SFJ, in December 2023, starting on December 20, 2023 and April 26, 2024, in the mornings, on Wednesdays and Fridays, they were not indicated by that union the SM. Given this absence, the public employer, in this case, the DGAJ, requested the intervention of the Arbitration College to define the SM. The Arbitration College decided not to declare SM for this specific strike. Unsatisfied, the DGAJ appealed to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, in an urgent process, which was filed on December 29, 2023. This process awaits a decision.”
This statement was sent to newsrooms at 8:00 p.m. At 9:50 pm Lusa reported that there had already been a decision from the TRL, announcing that this court, on Wednesday, ruled in favor of the SFJ in considering that the ongoing indefinite strike should not have minimum services, as DAGAJ intended.
The decision that had been awaited for four months came within a few hours after the MJ denounced the situation.
