The president of SMMP, Paulo Lona, emphasized in a statement that the strikes demonstrated “strong mobilization of the vast majority of magistrates, considering it an unequivocal demonstration of the dissatisfaction felt in the sector.”
The national strike took place on July 9 and 10, and the regional strikes occurred on July 11, 14, and 15. According to a statement by the Public Prosecutor’s Office Magistrates’ Union, these strikes “achieved an adherence of about 90%, with peaks of 100% in various districts, and delays in proceedings and trials across the mainland and islands.”
The strikes were in protest against the annual movement of Public Prosecutor magistrates, a decision by the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which the union contests as it believes the decision forces rotation and accumulation of duties. This decision, according to the union led by Paulo Lona, puts “the specialization of Public Prosecutor magistrates and the quality of justice available to citizens at risk.”
The SMMP stated that starting in September, magistrates will “be ensuring different competencies in various courts, a direct consequence of the chronic lack of human resources in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, aggravated by numerous retirement requests and the insufficiency of positions in magistrate training courses,” as noted in the document sent to the editorial offices today.
Regarding the prosecutors’ strike, the Minister of Justice refused this Tuesday to “interfere in the discussion” between Public Prosecutor magistrates and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), admitting that any injunction decree by the union would cause “a very large disruption.”
In addition to the strike preceding the judicial holidays, the SMMP also announced a precautionary measure to halt the annual movement of magistrates, accusing the PGR of wanting to end specialization.
