Belgium ( Brussels Morning Newspaper ) – Belgian prison staff have initiated a 24-hour strike starting at 22:00 on January 26, 2025. Belgian prison staff initiated their strike at 22:00 to protect themselves from escalating prison violence.
Staff at Belgian prisons began their strike at 22:00 on January 26, 2025, to protect themselves against worsening violence. This strike marks the latest development after staff experienced both a Molotov cocktail attack on their home and arson attacks against their cars. Major unions have started their 24-hour job action demanding better safeguards and state interference in tackling security risks.
“It is high time that an end is put to this form of terror against prison staff,”
The unions said.
According to the Prison Service, the straining situation in prisons has reached “dramatic” levels that prevent them from providing minimum standards because of inadequate staffing. Under normal conditions, the Central Council of Prison Monitoring (CCSP) reports that select prisons operate without adequate staff to provide essential services.
Mathilde Van Steenbergen, director general of the Prison Service, visited the picket line at Haren prison this morning.
“Like the strikers, the Prison Service is concerned about the increasing aggression against prison staff,”
Says spokesperson Kathleen Van De Vijver.
“There is therefore understanding for the reasons why prison staff are on strike.”
“From the Prison Service we try to accommodate the victims as best we can. We also need to be able to provide answers to this new form of violence. We are working hard on an action plan to be able to do that, even though we unfortunately know that zero risk does not exist and we must realize that repression can never be the only answer,”
He said.
Background of the prison strike in Belgium
A series of violent events against prison staff members initiated the strike. The Haren prison parking lot became the scene of vehicle arson when an officer’s security vehicle caught fire, followed by an attack on a prison guard’s residence with a Molotov cocktail in the early months. The Leuven prison guard’s vehicle was another target when it caught fire in Heers. The recent violent incidents within imprisonment settings have escalated staff safety worries, which triggered this current strike action. Director General Mathilde Van Steenbergen of the Prison Service planned a solidarity visit to the Haren prison picket line where workers were on strike.
Prison Service staff face mounting aggression from inmates, and the agency has started building its action plan to battle this emerging violence. The minimum service requirements continue to fail across numerous prisons due to the ongoing strike, creating additional risks to prison personnel and inmate populations. ACOD, the socialist trade union, says eleven out of eighteen Flemish prisons recorded staffing shortages, which started on Friday.
According to the socialist trade union ACOD, 12 of the 18 Flemish prisons are experiencing problems due to understaffing.
“We have known this since Friday,”
Says Robby De Kaey of ACOD Prisons.
“The directorate-general did not respond to our request to look into how to tackle this. Moreover, the situation is always dramatic. Even on a normal working day, our safety is not guaranteed. Prison guards feel like they are running wild. The situation regarding drugs and smartphones is problematic in some prisons.”
According to the union, the lack of action from the directorate-general to deal with personnel shortages is the main issue. Staff in prisons experience insecurity resulting from ongoing issues within facilities regarding deficient security systems and increased drug incidents and illegal smartphone activities. According to CCSP data, shorter, more moderate strikes have become less frequent after March 2019, when authorities gained the power to request replacement staff beyond 48 hours of jam.
