Agreement ends prison strikes

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On 23 May 2002, the Belgian federal government and trade unions representing prison officers concluded an agreement, bringing to an end an all-out nationwide strike that had begun on 20 May. This strike had been preceded by three 24-hour stoppages. The prison officers obtained satisfaction on the main issues in question, which related chiefly to prison overcrowding and understaffing.

Following several months of tension, prison officers' trade unions called three national 24-hour strikes in Belgium's 33 prisons on 25 April, 2 May and 17 May 2002. The action was instigated by the two main public service trade union organisations - the General Confederation of Public Services (Centrale Générale des Services Publics/Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten, CGSP/ACOD), affiliated to the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV), and the the Public Services Christian Union (Centrale Chrétienne des Services Publics/Christelijke Centrale van de Openbare Diensten, CCSP/CCOD) affiliated to the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV). The liberal Free Trade Union of Civil Servants (Syndicat libre de la Fonction Publique/Vrij Syndicaat voor het Openbaar Ambt, SLFP/VSOA) joined the action on 17 May.

On 13 May, the unions announced their intention to organise an indefinite strike, and this threat was put into practice at 22.00 on 20 May. The unions argued that they had submitted a list of demands to the Minister of Justice in December 2001, but 'nothing had been done'. The last time that there had been major industrial action in the prison service was four years previously, when strikes lasted more than a week.

Whilst continuing negotiations with Minister of Justice, Marc Verwilghen of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten,VLD), the unions succeeded in obstructing all activity in prisons across the country. The daily routine of prisoners was severe test disrupted for several days, with cancelled visits and outings, restricted contact with lawyers, deterioration of standards of hygiene etc. Members of the police force were called in to provide security in the prisons.

The government, and especially the Minister of Justice, was the subject of scathing criticism for perceived delay in responding to the growing tensions that had been becoming increasingly apparent in the prison sector over a period of several months. Mr Verwilghen, in particular, provoked the anger of the strikers by declaring that the unions had a 'hidden agenda'.

The Minister responded by stating that solutions had already been identified to address the problems of prison overcrowding and understaffing. On the one hand, prison cell capacity, which currently stands at 7,346 (for a population that fluctuates between 8,300 and 8,800 prisoners), is soon to be increased by 1,110 places. On 31 May, a new prison was opened in Ittre (in the Walloon region). A second prison is also planned for Hasselt (Flanders). On the other hand, steps have been taken to combat overcrowding in prisons, according to the Minister. For example, some 280 prisoners are currently covered by an electronic surveillance system, and Mr Verwilghen hopes that 1,000 'electronic bracelets' will be in use by 2003. On the subject of understaffing, the minister stressed that the number of staff (full-time or equivalent) increased from 4,853 to 5,301 between June 1999 and April 2002. On the budgetary level, the funding allocated by the federal government to the penal system was increased from BEF 9.5 billion to BEF 11.5 billion between 1999 and 2002. 'For all these reasons, this government can scarcely be accused of failing to make efforts to recruit more staff and provide the sector with increased funding. As I see it, there must therefore be a hidden agenda behind the strike,' Mr Verwilghen stated on 3 May, referring to the unions' primarily financial demands.

On 23 May, the Minister of Justice, along with the Minister for the Civil Service - Luc Van den Bossche of the (Flemish-speaking) Progressive Social Alternative (sociaal progressief alternatief, SP.A) - and the prison officers' union representatives succeeded in reaching a global agreement. The government committed itself to responding to a number of the unions' demands, in return for an immediate return to work. These demands included the extension of the 36-hour working week to all prison workers, definitive acceptance of pre-retirement leave at the age of 55 for all workers (warders and administrative staff), and the reappraisal of various bonuses (the bonus for work on Saturdays, productivity bonus and risk bonus).

The budgetary cost of the agreement is estimated at EUR 3.43 million in 2002 and EUR 8.23 million in 2003. Over a full year, the cost of the measures can be broken down as follows (in order of importance): Saturday allowances (EUR 3.29 million); expansion of administrative management (EUR 2.78 million); night allowances (EUR 1.06 million); the 36-hour week (EUR 0.69 million); and measures related to the 'psycho-social' work environment (EUR 0.39 million).

Most prison officers returned to work on 25 May, following general assemblies that were organised in prisons across the country. Officers at the Forest prison (Brussels), the only ones to vote against ending the strike, returned to work on 29 May. Forest is one of the prisons where overcrowding and understaffing are most acute. It was designed to house 420 prisoners, whereas it currently provides accommodation for some 700.