Belgium Mandates Minimum Prison Service in 24-Hour Strikes

The Belgian government has approved a Royal Decree requiring minimum service in prisons within the first 24 hours of any strike action, a measure aimed at ensuring security and basic operations in correctional facilities during labor disputes. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) championed the decree, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers on Saturday, July 18, as part of the Arizona coalition government’s broader labor reforms.

Context and Background

The decision comes against a backdrop of severe overcrowding in Belgian prisons and a wave of strikes that swept through correctional facilities in late June 2026. As of February 2026, Belgium’s prisons held 13,473 inmates against a capacity of just 11,049 places, with 578 inmates sleeping on floor mattresses, according to RTBF. The prison population has grown from 8,156 in 1997 to over 13,500 today, despite repeated policy interventions that have failed to stem the crisis.

Unions had been in negotiations with the prison administration, led by Director General Mathilde Steenbergen, to establish minimum staffing levels per facility for strikes exceeding 24 hours. The new decree preempts those talks by imposing a government-mandated minimum service that takes effect immediately upon any strike action.

The New Measure

Speaking after the decree’s approval, Minister Verlinden said: “With this measure, we are implementing the mechanisms already provided for by law in order to guarantee security, including during short-term strikes. The safety of prison staff and society remains our priority,” as reported by RTBF.

Vice-Prime Minister David Clarinval (MR) publicly defended the measure, describing it as “a common-sense measure” in comments carried by RTL Info. “The right to strike is a fundamental right, but it must be able to coexist with other equally fundamental obligations such as security, continuity of public service and respect for human dignity,” Clarinval stated. “When a prison no longer functions normally, it is the prison staff, the detainees and the security of the establishment that come under pressure.”

The government frames the measure around three pillars: security within penitentiary establishments, respect for the human dignity of detainees, and continuity of public service.

Union Backlash

The decree has provoked fierce opposition from prison unions, particularly the socialist CGSP, who view it as a betrayal of ongoing negotiations and an attack on the right to strike. Gregory Wallez, CGSP federal secretary, denounced the minister’s approach, arguing that “rather than working to implement the social plan as quickly as possible… Minister Verlinden opts for the easy solution,” as quoted by RTBF. Wallez accused the minister of undermining the authority of the Director General of Prisons, with whom unions had been negotiating in good faith.

Olivier Vandenhove, CGSP Prisons permanent delegate, warned that prison staff are already at a breaking point. “The agents now think that this is to prevent them from striking and to muzzle them with the overcrowding which, for two years, has taken on historic proportions,” Vandenhove told RTBF. “It is really saying we cannot do anything about overcrowding, but we will prevent the agents from striking, that way at least it will limit the damage.”

Vandenhove further warned of industrial action ahead: “There will likely be actions in prisons by September, that is for sure. She (the Minister) knew it. We had warned her. The agents are already at breaking point. She dealt the final blow, she will have to own it.”

Analysis and Implications

The minimum service decree sits within a broader package of conservative labor reforms advanced by the Arizona coalition government under Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA). The same Council of Ministers session also approved the annualization of working hours, new overtime rules, a family credit of five days per child, and budget measures ahead of a 10 billion euro fiscal consolidation.

Both the government and unions acknowledge that prison overcrowding is the fundamental issue underlying the conflict. The government argues that minimum service prevents conditions from worsening during strikes, while unions contend that the measure is a band-aid solution that avoids addressing root causes. Belgium has been repeatedly condemned by the European Court of Human Rights over its prison conditions, and successive policy responses — from renting prison beds in the Netherlands to emergency laws and the opening of the 1,200-place Haren prison — have failed to produce lasting relief.

What’s Next

With unions threatening coordinated action by September and the government pressing ahead with its reform agenda, the stage is set for a significant labor confrontation in Belgium’s prisons. The question remains whether the minimum service decree will improve conditions for staff and detainees during strikes or simply deepen the tensions that have been building for years. Legal challenges to the Royal Decree cannot be ruled out, and the broader social climate — with strikes also looming in other public sectors — suggests that the Arizona coalition’s labor reforms will face continued resistance.