Only 5% of prison guards in Ghent are at work on Monday, following a strike that began at 22:00 on Sunday. Workers are only distributing food and medication due to staff shortages. "I think there will be little activity today," confirmed union representative Jef Tax (ACOD).
The unions have long criticised chronic staff shortages and prison overcrowding. "This creates very dangerous working conditions," Tax added. "Workers have to work double shifts and travel to Antwerp to guard dangerous criminals in a hospital."
Ghent also has many inmates who require specialised care that is not available in prison, the union representative continues. "These people should be placed in a psychiatric facility," he said.
The management has presented an initial document in an attempt to reach a social agreement, but the unions consider it insufficient. "We want a text by tomorrow evening that is not open to interpretation," Tax warned.
ACV union representative Alain Blancke is also calling for measures to ease the burden of working conditions on prison staff in Ghent. "Our workers have to do the impossible every day," he says. "Overcrowding is making the situation even worse, with dozens of inmates sleeping on the floor. This cannot go on."
