A 24-hour strike by prison staff got underway at 10pm on Sunday evening. The Prisons’ Service says that in many prisons not enough staff have reported for duty to ensure that a minimal level of service can be maintained. It describes the situation as “dramatic”. The strike is in protest against an increase in incidents of violence against prison officers.
Not enough staff to ensure minimal level of service during 24-hour strike in the county’s prisons
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In recent weeks there have been several well-documented incidents of attacks on prison officers and their property. Early this month a prison officer’s car was set on fire on the carpark of Haren Prison in Brussels. Another prison officer that works at Haren’s home was attacked with a Molotov cocktail. Elsewhere, a car belonging to a prison officer that works a Leuven Prison (Flemish Brabant) was set on fire outside his home in the Limburg village of Heers.
The unions that represent prison staff say that “It is high time action is taken to prevent prison staff being terrorised in this way”.
Safety at risk
The Director-General of the Prisons Service Mathilde Van Steenbergen visited Haren Prison on Monday morning. The Prisons Service spokeswoman Kathleen Van De Vijver told VRT News that “Like those that are taking strike action we are concerned about acts of aggression against prison staff. We understand the reason why prison staff are on strike”.
“At the Prison Service, we try to assist victims as best we can. We also need to be able to provide a response to this new form of violence. We are working hard on an action plan to enable us to do this. However, unfortunately, we know that there is no such thing as zero risk and we have to be aware that repressive measures are not the only answer”.
However, the Prisons Service says that strike action that results in an inability to ensure a minimal level of service at some prisons will serve to increase tension and incidents of violence both during and in the aftermath of the strike.
The socialist public sector union ACOD says that 12 of the 18 Flemish prisons don’t have enough staff to ensure minimum service levels during the strike. The union adds that the Prisons Service has known since Friday that this would be the case, but failed to respond to the union’s request for talks. ACOD went onto say that even on a normal working day the safety of prison staff can not be guaranteed. Although minimum service levels are inscribed in the law. They can not be enforced during the first 24 hours of a strike.