Brussels police plan strike action over gang violence

Three police trade unions have submitted a strike notice from 3 to 15 October, citing the risks that officers face in the fight against drug gangs and demanding better working conditions.

The ACV, VSOA and NSVP unions are protesting against the government’s risk assessment regarding the tackling of "drug-related violence", which they say is not being discussed at the appropriate level.

“Today we see that the minister and the government are not concerned about the safety of police officers,” said ACV’s Alain Peeters.

“Our units are being deployed in Brussels in a brutal battle against serious drug-related violence, where weapons of war have, sadly, become a reality.µ

"Yet the government refuses to discuss the safety risks for all the units involved at the highest federal level."

The strike notice applies specifically to the CIK (District Intervention Corps) and the DAS (Public Security Directorate), both federal police services.

According to the trade unions, these units are often “deployed in the fight against drug-related violence”, even though the security risks associated with such operations have not been discussed at federal level.

“It’s as if we’re sending our people into the line of fire with their eyes closed,” the unions said, describing the situation as unacceptable and dangerous.

The ACOD union also announced a strike notice earlier this week, which applies to all police forces and the police inspectorate.

The union's strike notice begins on 9 October, runs until 31 December and applies to both local and federal police forces, as well as the General Inspectorate of the Police (AIG).

ACOD is also organising a number of days of industrial action from 9 October to protest against the federal government’s various measures.

These and the strike notice more generally are also intended as a “warning against new decisions” that are reportedly on the agenda for the federal government’s budget talks.

ACOD hopes to draw attention to what it has described as “the general lack of investment in public services and the low attractiveness of the police profession”.