1,500 police officers call in sick during EU summit

More than 1,500 federal and Brussels police officers called in sick on Thursday in protest at the lack of a new labour agreement between police unions and the government. The timing is strategic: Hundreds of agents per day are needed to police the EU summit.

Officers have been calling in sick all week, but in nowhere near the numbers of today. In the Brussels-City-Ixelles zone alone, more than 900 agents stayed home. Police union NSVP said that, while it did not organise the action, it supports it “200%”.

Because federal interior minister Jan Jambon has already assigned officers to European summit duty, they cannot officially go on strike. Hence the sick day action. “We have been warning the minister for months that our personnel are no longer going to put up with the work conditions,” said Mario Thys of NSVP. “The federal police are short 3,500 agents. That’s completely irresponsible. We have officers who work overtime for six weeks out of every two months.”

In the meantime, backup agents from around the country have been brought in to police the summit. “We have been able to rely on our colleagues from the federal police and from other zones,” said a police spokesperson.

Photo: Thierry Roge/BELGA