Staff at Brighton Magistrates’ Court have joined colleagues across the country in a nine-day walkout over a new computer system.
They had been due to start their strike last month but postponed their action after the death of the Queen.
Their union, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), said that staff at 68 courts were taking part in the strike over the “Common Platform” case management system.
Initially, 55 courts were expected to be affected but after the September strike was postponed, staff at 13 more courts voted to take part.
The PCS said that the striking staff were legal advisers and court associates who were in dispute with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS).
The union said that staff were warned about “teething problems” when the scheme was introduced two years ago.
But these have persisted, forcing them to work longer hours and having a negative effect on the justice system.
The union said previously that 180 of its members were involved in the dispute which has led to the strike being scheduled from yesterday (Saturday 22 October) until next Sunday (30 October).
The PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our members in courts feel a huge amount of resentment and resolve because their voices are being ignored by managers.
“We’ve asked managers to stop the roll-out of the scheme and they haven’t. They haven’t even paused for negotiations to take place.
“They talk a lot about feedback but they’re not listening. They’re just ploughing on, regardless of the consequences.
“This is not a new scheme. When it was introduced two years ago, we were told there would be teething problems and that once it’s embedded it’ll get better.
“It hasn’t. Our members are working longer hours, it adversely impacts on their family lives and, importantly, on their ability to deliver justice.”
The Courts and Tribunal Service said when the union’s ballot result first came in: “This is a disappointing outcome.
“We have been working with staff and unions on the rollout of the Common Platform since September 2020 and it has already dealt with over 158,000 criminal cases.”
