Dundee’s solicitors are to join their counterparts across Scotland in taking strike action against legal aid cuts.
Following an emergency meeting on Thursday night, lawyers unamimously agreed to the unprecedented industrial action, which will see them take wildcat strikes as part of the escalating dispute over the proposed cuts.
The move follows the withdrawal of services by Edinburgh’s lawyers on Monday. That action saw them refusing to act for defendants appearing in custody courts, while some lawyers demonstrated outside the court, carrying placards.
As a result, cases were adjourned or postponed and defendants taken back into custody.
A spokesman for the Dundee Bar Association said: ”At an emergency meeting of Dundee Bar Association held today it was unanimously decided to join with our colleagues the length and breadth of Scotland in positive protest action against the Government’s proposals to reduce access to justice for our communities.
”Our members will take part in local and national action in forms and dates which will not be disclosed.”
The decision to strike follows huge disquiet among Dundee’s lawyers, who believe the Government is ”doing what it can to deny access to justice for accused people.”
The strength of feeling is shown by the unanimous decision to protest.
Solicitors say they are also heartened by support they have received from clients after explaining what the effects of the changes to the legal aid system will mean for them.
The Dundee lawyers will now take part in a series of unannounced strikes at courts and police stations across the country to intensify pressure on the Scottish Government to rethink their proposed reforms.
The dispute erupted after the new Scottish civil justice council and criminal legal assistance bill stated that defendants with more than £68 a week disposable income would need to start paying towards their own legal fees, a measure lawyers believe will hit the poorest unfairly.
Defence lawyers will also be required to charge their clients directly for fees, with the legal aid board no longer responsible for collecting or paying those fees.
Anyone earning more than £220 a week would no longer receive legal aid and the total fee payable for any non-jury sheriff court trial would be fixed at £485 a rate many lawyers believe is too low.
A Scottish Government spokesman said the Scottish Court Service, the Crown Office, prison service and police were working on contingency arrangements to minimise disruption and ensure ”the integrity of the criminal justice system is preserved”.
The spokesman added: ”Any decision by solicitors to take industrial action is therefore very disappointing. It will inconvenience courts, accused persons, victims and witnesses in a move that is wholly premature while discussions are still ongoing.”