From next week, prison staff in Belgium will no longer strike every day in all prisons at the same time, but in one province per day. This way, staff can continue the strike for a long period and minimise the financial impact on their members.
The unions decided on this system after consultations with Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) on Thursday yielded no results, VRT reported and the unions confirmed to Belga News Agency.
In Flemish Brabant and Brussels, there will be strikes on 8, 17, 26 and 30 April, while in East Flanders strikes are scheduled for 9, 16, 25 and 29 April. In Limburg, the proposed dates are 10, 15, 23 and 30 April, and in West Flanders there will be strikes on 11, 16, 24 and 29 April. Finally, strikes in Antwerp will occur on 12, 17, 22 and 30 April.
"The three unions have decided in advance to deal with the current strike notice in an inventive way," said Frank Conings, secretary for ACV Public Services. "In this way, we can limit the financial impact on our members."
An indefinite strike has been underway in Belgian prisons since 22:00 on Monday 1 April. The three major trade unions had called for this after consultations about overcrowding and staff shortages with Van Tigchelt failed last week.
On Thursday, further consultations took place between the prison unions and Van Tigchelt's cabinet, but also turned out to be unsuccessful.
"We regret that the Minister left the consultation before discussing the remuneration of staff in the event of a strike," the unions said. "The only goal is to muzzle the staff and attack the right to strike. In doing so, he failed to properly tackle the problems in the prisons that have been burdening us for years."
