Lawyers in revolt over pay, complaining they cant afford to buy lunch

In the West they say there's no such thing as a poor lawyer.

Not so in Siberia where today hundreds went on a day long strike to protest at low pay.

In Perm region all 975 practicing lawyers joined the industrial action, it was reported, and legal specialists also stopped work in the Urals republic of Urdmurtia and in the far eastern region of Primorye.

The lawyers say that they are paid 300 roubles a day ( €7.80, $10.25) and cannot afford to buy lunch at court cafeterias.

At issue is a fixed rate for working on criminal cases which the lawyers are obliged to do by law.

They complain that the rates have not been raised for four years.

'There's a limit to human patience, and it's passed', lawyer's leader Pavel Yakovlev told Fedpress.ru.