The first week of this year saw barristers across England and Wales opting not to attend legal proceedings, bringing courts in major cities to a standstill. This was the first time they had engaged in industrial action since the bar was established 600 years ago. They were protesting the proposed 30% cuts to legal aid fees, which will result in reduced availability and quality of legal representation for the most vulnerable, and will endanger many jobs in the legal sector.

In March, criminal defense solicitors and probation staff followed suit, joining barristers in a 1000-person-strong second walk-out. Given the significant disruption to trials as a result of these actions, their resolve to protect the UK’s criminal justice system looks set to force government ministers to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, as the National Health Service, the UK’s national public health system, undergoes the most dramatic overhaul since its conception, doctors continue to work in seeming oblivion. These reforms amount to large-scale cuts, job losses, privatization, reduced availability of treatment, and limited accountability to citizens.