Belgium’s police unions VSOA and NSPV have filed a strike notice, accusing Interior Minister Bernard Quintin of unilaterally changing working time rules after recent unrest.
Vincent Houssin of VSOA Police said on Sunday that the unions had received a document showing the minister wanted to introduce temporary exemptions to existing rules on working hours and rest periods.
Under the proposed changes, officers in the Liège police zone and the federal judicial police would have less rest between shifts.
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The measure follows several riots in recent days.
Houssin said the minister is allowed to introduce exceptions to working time arrangements, but only after consultation in the higher consultative committee.
He accused Quintin of pushing through the decision unilaterally and said the unions were taken completely by surprise.
“We have never seen a minister disregard the law in this way,” Houssin said.
Instead of putting more pressure on the same officers, he said, extra support should be deployed to the affected police forces.
The strike notice lodged by NSPV and VSOA runs from 23 October to 2 November.
