Members of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Correctional Personnel Unions in Greece (OSYE) have decided to proceed with a hunger strike during Orthodox Holy Week – from Saturday, April 7 to Good Friday, April 13 – in protest of their exclusion from the list of hazardous and unhealthy professions.
The correctional officers want to highlight the gloomy working conditions in Greek prisons. With 70 percent of the inmates being foreign nationals, the correctional staff is protesting the cultural differences emerging in the facilities. “Foreign nationals, whose culture and tradition allow them to have a different view on human life than ours are showing off their differences on a daily basis and have become the main source of inmates in the Greek prison system,” pointed out OSYE.
According to a ProtoThema report, the Union is accusing the Ministry of Justice for having abandoned its members without caring about their unpaid overtime night shifts, their work schedule, and the degradation of their directors’ role in controlling and managing the prisons.
The Union is demanding correctional officers be included on the list of hazardous and unhealthy professions. According to the Union, the officers are subjected to violent behavior, having to settle fights between healthy and unhealthy inmates.
OSYE plans to take further action after the Easter holiday.
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