- Title: Police in west Brussels call in sick, claiming they are overworked
- Date: 6th January 2017
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE - AUGUST 18, 2016) (REUTERS) BRUSSELS WEST BADGE ON POLICEMAN'S SHIRT / POLICE OFFICERS POLICE OFFICERS STANDING BY CAR VARIOUS OF POLICE OFFICERS PATROLLING MOLENBEEK DISTRICT MARKET
- Embargoed: 21st January 2017 12:43
- Keywords: Brussels police Molenbeek strike sick security
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
- Reuters ID: LVA0025XY056V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Police officers in the Brussels West area - which covers the Molenbeek neighbourhood - collectively called in sick, the local police chief said on Friday (January 6), in a protest over working conditions amid heightened security measures in the Belgian capital.
Molenbeek became the centre of attention following the gun and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, when it appeared that many of the militants had lived in the neighbourhood.
After the attacks, the Belgian interior minister vowed to "clean up" Molenbeek and promised additional resources, though Brussels was itself struck by Islamist bombings in March.
In the police district which includes Molenbeek, officers called in sick for the late shift on Thursday and the first shift on Friday.
"They are talking about an overload of work, which I can understand. Things have not been easy, neither in 2015 nor in 2016. There is a deficit in personnel in the intervention services of 20 percent, which is significant. The 50 additional people from the 'Canal Plan' (government plan to reinforce security in the neighbourhood) are still not there. Well they were there for a period and then they went away, there are only 34 left. So I understand the expectations of the personnel, I will officially listen to their complaints. But the action they took is not very responsible. One cannot take the population hostage," the head of Brussels West police, Johan De Becker, said.
The head of SLFP union for Brussels West police district Kris Verstraeten said that the movement was coming from the grassroots and had not been organised by unions, though he added that he supported their complaints.
The shortfall in the area was addressed with officers from elsewhere, Brussels West police said.
The interior ministry was not immediately available for comment. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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