More than 200 barristers in Northern Ireland are set for a one-day strike across all criminal courts on 17 November, the Bar Council has said.The move follows a ballot of the Criminal Bar AssociationIt said that barristers, after completing work, face a wait of up to six months to receive payment.
"It is a regrettable but necessary measure to preserve the viability of legal aid as a vital public service that is relied upon by the most vulnerable citizens in our society," they said. The organisation said it has been calling on the Department of Justice to address the issue for months. "Indeed, no other jurisdiction across the UK and Ireland has chosen to address Legal Aid budget pressures by financially punishing the lawyers who provide a vital public service," they added.A DoJ spokesperson said it is "sympathetic to the frustration of the profession", but action is "premature".