SENIOR criminal lawyers in England and Wales today called off strike action after voting to accept a government pay offer.

The lawyers began a series of escalating walkouts over fees and conditions in June amid a wave of industrial unrest that has seen tens of thousands of workers in UK sectors from railways and refuse removal to ports and telecommunications stage strikes.

“The Criminal Bar has voted to accept the proposal made by the government. With 57% voting to accept the offer made by government, action is suspended from 1800 (1700 GMT) this evening,” the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents lawyers, said in a statement.

Justice Minister Brandon Lewis welcomed the “breakthrough” which he said he hoped marked the restarting of “a constructive relationship as we work to drive down the backlog and ensure victims see justice done sooner”.

“I’m glad that barristers have now agreed to return to work,” he said on Twitter.

Britain’s criminal justice system has come under massive pressure due to Covid backlogs which have delayed cases coming to court and years of cuts to state-funded legal aid work that ensures representation for defendants on lower incomes.

The CBA says poor pay rates have made recruitment to the profession difficult and sparked an exodus of lawyers, including 300 last year alone.

Britain is in the midst of a cost of living crisis with workers facing huge hikes in energy prices, rising interest rates and food costs.

The vote came after the CBA held talks with Lewis and he proposed further reforms to government-set fees for legal aid work.

The offer represented “further investment of £54 million (US$59.5 million) in the criminal bar and solicitors”, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The lawyers had been demanding an immediate 15% hike in legal aid payments.

They had also been refusing to accept new cases or cover for colleagues.

Over 2,600 lawyers voted in the CBA ballot.

The CBA said the strike may have ended but the criminal justice remained “chronically underfunded”.

The latest strike to hit the UK came at the weekend with a walkout on Saturday by 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union demanding wage increases.

The walkout that caused severe disruption was the third in eight days to hit passengers. – AFP, October 10, 2022.