The president of the National Union of the Prison Guard Corps, Frederico Morais, expressed concerns today about significant security breaches at the Beja Prison due to the removal of guards from the prison area.
“We are worried that there is no macro security vision since the incident at Vale de Judeus, where five inmates with special security measures escaped, seems to have not been a lesson to anyone in the prison services,” he criticized.
Morais also accused the establishment’s management of being “adrift” with “poor management,” irrespective of the “shortage of staff that affects all security forces.”
“I have proof, and I don’t speak just for the sake of speaking. Whenever I encounter a problem, I like to propose a solution and justify it with facts, and this is one of the facts that has been more than reported by the colleagues at this establishment,” he stated.
Morais recalled an incident from earlier this month when a guard at Beja Prison was assaulted by an inmate after removing him from a zone where he was causing disturbances with a healthcare professional.
“The inmate was demanding a nurse provide a treatment she could not perform without medical authorization, and when the colleague removed him from that area, he punched him in the face,” he reported, noting that “the inmate was eventually isolated and transferred to Monsanto.”
The protest by Beja Prison guards will begin on Monday with a refusal to work overtime, extending to a “total strike” from December 16 to January 31, according to the union president.
The so-called total strike will entail “limiting the inmates’ activities,” only “assuming the minimum services,” meaning “they will have access to hygiene, health, and meals but will remain locked up for 22 hours a day,” he explained.
“There will be no Alentejo singing, inmate outings will only occur if their life is at risk or for treatments for tuberculosis, hepatitis, AIDS, or COVID, or for court appearances if there is a change in coercive measures,” he clarified.
Beja Prison guards went on strike in October but “temporarily suspended the strike” to guarantee a “round of negotiations” with management, the union leader said.
“We submitted a proposal to the director, [and] local union representatives had a meeting,” but no agreement was reached, he added.
“A prison is not a primary school or a kindergarten, and people are there because a judge decided they could not live in society due to the crimes they committed,” argued Morais, asserting that inmates “need to be re-educated and reintegrated into society through norms and rules.”
Currently, the Beja Prison has 53 guards for 198 inmates.
An email sent by the Lusa agency to the director of Beja Prison has yet to receive a response.
