Striking barristers joined on picket lines by RMT members

Barristers in criminal cases have gone on strike across England and Wales in a long-running dispute over pay for legal aid cases.

The government pays for legal aid barristers to advise suspects who cannot afford legal representation and sets pay rates for legal aid work.

Barristers are self-employed and often perceived as highly paid, but new criminal barristers earn as little as £9,000 once costs are factored in.

Tory efforts to pit worker against worker are failing. Industrial action is always a last resort and strikes do not pit barrister versus railway worker, or postie versus cleaner. ALL workers have a right to a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

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