Belgian Prison Unions Announce Five-Day Nationwide Strike
Belgian prison staff will walk off the job for five days starting Sunday, September 6, after negotiations between trade unions and Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden’s cabinet collapsed without results. The strike, scheduled from 10 PM on September 6 until 10 PM on September 11, is expected to significantly disrupt operations across all penitentiary institutions in the country, according to VRT NWS.
Failed Negotiations Trigger Strike Activation
The joint union front representing prison personnel filed a strike notice on August 27 covering all penitentiary institutions, including detention centers. Talks held Monday and Tuesday between the unions, Minister Verlinden’s cabinet, and Mathilde Steenbergen, Director-General of the Prison Administration, produced no breakthrough, BRUZZ reported.
“It is always the same bottlenecks that return during local consultations,” said Alain Blancke of ACV Openbare Diensten. “Unfortunately, we have not received any adequate guarantee or concrete answer from the political authorities to structurally address these problems in the short and medium term.”
Union representatives from ACV Openbare Diensten, ACOD, and VSOA jointly confirmed the activation of the strike notice, which applies to every penitentiary institution nationwide.
Deep-Rooted Crisis: Overcrowding, Staff Shortages, and Safety
The strike stems from a long-simmering crisis in Belgian prisons. Facilities are severely overcrowded, with more than 13,000 detainees held in facilities designed for approximately 11,296 places. The number of detainees forced to sleep on the floor has reached record levels, with 736 ground sleepers reported as of April, according to VRT NWS. By late August, the figure had risen further, with 71 additional ground sleepers recorded in just two weeks, as BRUZZ detailed.
The Haren prison, Belgium’s largest penitentiary institution opened in 2022, exemplifies the crisis. It has 1,129 places but houses approximately 1,437 detainees—an overcapacity of more than 300. The facility has been the site of repeated violent incidents, including an attack on August 27 when a detainee assaulted a guard during coffee distribution and three other guards who intervened were also attacked, BRUZZ reported. Earlier in July, five staff members were injured during a search in which a detainee was caught with a large quantity of drugs, with two requiring hospitalization, according to BRUZZ coverage.
Staff Attrition and Leave Backlog
The unions point to a massive backlog of approximately 800,000 days of unpaid leave for prison staff. Staff attrition has doubled compared to five years ago, with twice as many employees resigning, according to the joint union front’s August 27 communiqué reported by VRT NWS.
“The consequence is that staff cannot work safely and cannot recover in time from the difficult circumstances in which they have been forced to work for years,” the unions stated in their communiqué. “There is consequently a high attrition rate among prison staff.”
The unions also highlight deteriorating conditions for detainees, noting that “their living conditions are still scandalous,” citing convictions of the Belgian state carrying fines running into the millions of euros.
Escalating Tensions Through the Summer
This strike follows a summer marked by escalating tensions. A one-day solidarity strike occurred across all Belgian prisons on June 29-30 following conflicts between unions and prison directors in French-speaking Belgium, as BRUZZ reported. The former director of Haren prison, Jurgen Van Poecke, stepped down in June in protest against overcrowding and staff shortages.
In July, Parliament approved an emergency package proposed by Minister Verlinden to address overcrowding, including automatic electronic ankle bracelets for convicts sentenced to up to 18 months and accelerated removal of undocumented foreign convicts, according to BRUZZ. The Belgian sentence enforcement courts expressed concern, calling it “an unprecedented attack on their independence.”
Verlinden’s proposal during the summer to more quickly requisition staff during prison guard strikes to ensure minimum service provision further angered the unions, who viewed it as an attempt to silence legitimate protest, as noted in the strike notice coverage.
Political Pressure and New Capacity
The strike comes at a politically sensitive time for Verlinden, who has been in office for approximately 1.5 years. Union representative Robby De Kaey of ACOD captured the frustration before the talks: “We finally want solutions. The minister has been in office for a year and a half, but we still see no improvement,” as BRUZZ reported.
The new ‘De Kade’ prison in Antwerp opened on September 2, but the first group of 86 detainees will not arrive until November, limiting its immediate impact on the overcrowding crisis. Regional outlets including AVS and Focus-WTV confirmed that strikes will affect prisons in Ghent, Oudenaarde, Bruges, Ieper, and other locations.
French-language media also covered the announcement extensively, with La Libre Belgique and La DH reporting on the union front’s decision.
What’s Next
The five-day strike will significantly disrupt prison operations, potentially affecting court proceedings, prisoner movements, and basic services across Belgium. The unions have warned that more strikes could follow if their demands are not met, stating they want solutions on a “reasonable but short term” and have not ruled out further actions.
With the new penal code taking effect and the De Kade prison not yet fully operational, the pressure on Verlinden’s administration is unlikely to ease. The coming days will reveal whether the strike forces a renewed political commitment to addressing the structural problems that have brought Belgian prisons to a breaking point.