Almost 50 lawyers accuse the president of the Bar Association of trying to limit the right to strike. The controversy arises after the publication, in Expresso, of a article by João Massano entitled “Let me go to work”.
“There are services that cannot stop, even when they have every reason in the world to stop. (…) when INEM goes on strike (…) it is not the Government who pays the price. It is the citizen who needs help and is left alone”, the article reads.
And he points to the courts as an example:
“Pedro, 34 years old, pre-trial detention for seven months, trial scheduled for Thursday. Postponed. Return to the cell.”
“Ana, a victim of domestic violence, gathered her courage for months to testify. She asked her boss for two days of vacation. She arrived at court on Thursday morning. Strike. When will it be rescheduled? Maybe in six months, if there is space.”
Cases that he uses to argue that, in addition to the right to strike, there is also the right to access justice and trial.
The words did not sit well with some lawyers and almost 50 decided to respond in writing. In an open letter, they accuse the president of defending limitations on the right to strike and warn of what they consider to be an attack on workers.
According to the Judicial Employees Union, the general strike had an impact on all courts in the country. The participation of Justice workers was around 90%.