Police unions ACOD, ACV, VSOA and NSPV are considering submitting a strike notice, partly because teleworking at various police services has been scaled back. “We await the meeting on Thursday, but we ask to invest urgently in, for example, extra laptops and to strictly apply the corona measures”, it sounds today.
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As in all sectors, teleworking is the rule at the police. On paper, only the necessary shifts have to be on site, the rest of the employees work from home. Although that is not self-evident, because in many police forces there are insufficient laptops available to provide every employee. As a result, many agents are put on rest on certain days, but they have to remain on standby if extra help is needed with certain actions.
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Quote We find it completely irresponsible to have everyone come back to the office
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But according to the unions, more people have recently started working in the office in various forces again, after the management decided to adjust the minimum staffing. “Working from home is the rule, so we find it completely irresponsible to have everyone come back to the office,” said Vincent Houssin, president of the liberal union VSOA. “The argument ‘they do wear a mouth mask’ is really not enough. The corona measures are also there for the police, so the management should not just decide to let everyone physically come to the office anyway.”
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Euro Summit and Wodca Controls
According to the socialist trade union ACOD Police, this means that there is a risk that staff members will drop out in the coming month, for example who have to be quarantined or who are sick. “In December there is, among other things, a Euro Summit on the program and in Antwerp there will be the Wodca checks. So we cannot afford to have agents out. But due to the risk that is now being run, that may well be the case” , said delegate Luc Breugelmans.
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Quote The necessary measures had to have been taken to make up for the shortage of laptops, but this has not been properly followed up everywhere
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The NSPV, the country’s largest independent police union, regrets that there is still a shortage of resources, eight months after the initial lockdown was declared. “There has been an opportunity to anticipate this”, says chairman Carlo Medo. “At that time, the necessary measures had to have been taken to make up for the shortage of laptops, but that was not followed up equally well everywhere.”
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Lack of trust
According to the Christian ACV, the scaling back of homework is not only due to the lack of resources, but also due to management. Secretary Joery Dehaes believes that managers still often have too little confidence in their employees and therefore do not let them work from home enough. “In 2020 that should no longer be allowed, it is time that they too started applying modern management”, it sounds.
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On Wednesday and Thursday, the item will in any case be on the agenda of the consultation with the police top and the Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V). The unions therefore hope that the measures regarding home working will be followed up more strictly and that money will be made available for, for example, extra laptops. If not, they may schedule a national strike.
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