Protesting prison staff could face sanctions, justice minister says

The Catalan justice minister has not ruled out sanctioning prison staff who do not go to work while the current protests are ongoing. 

Demonstrations outside prisons resumed on Monday, with protesting workers preventing staff from entering or exiting penitentiary centers across Catalonia. 

Conditions are also complicated inside, with the department saying on Monday morning that 4,000 inmates were unable to leave their cells. 

Justice Minister Gemma Ubasart described the "confinement" as worse than that experienced during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 

Ubasart reiterated on Monday her offer of talks with the unions, and once again ruled out dismissals or resignations, because the crisis requires "the entire team at full capacity." 

"A staff member who doesn't fulfil their duties exposes themselves to sanctions, that's obvious. So we cannot rule out any scenario, but what we want is dialogue," the secretary of penal measures Amand Calderó said.

Unions have called for Ubasart and Calderó to step down or be fired.

Rights affected

In their fourth press conference since Friday, Ubasart and Calderó reiterated that prison blockades affect an "essential service" and the rights of prisoners and their relatives, such as non-urgent medical visits, family and lawyer visits, workshops, training, work, scheduled outings, prison leave, transfers between prisons, and even court attendance. 

In fact, prisoners' video appearances for court hearings have also been cancelled. 

Calderó denied the accusation made by unions that he has forced or pressured some prison workers to go to their place of work before their shift start time in order to avoid possible blockades. 

Both Ubasart and Calderó once again asked the unions to sit down and enter into talks, noting that they have already accepted that the government can be represented by other interlocutors, rather than the minister and secretary, one of the unions' demands. 

Protests over safety after staff member killed 

The dispute between workers and the justice department over safety and working conditions was sparked on Wednesday by the killing of a cook at Mas d'Enric prison at the hands of an inmate who later took his own life. 

The justice department said that cells were only opened at only three prisons – Quatre Camins and Joves, which are housed on the same site, and Catalonia's biggest prison, Brians 2  – leaving 4,000 prisoners confined across Catalonia.

Letter sent to staff 

A top official from the justice department sent a letter to penitentiary workers warning that blocking prisons "may precipitate critical situations in penitentiary centers that in no way favor the image of the collective, nor overcoming the current situation." 

The secretary of penal measures said that after the death of a collegue at the hands of an inmate, "it is normal to feel sadness, indignation and anger," but said they were committed to "rectifing the situation with maximum sensitivity and empathy," highlighting improvements already underway in penitentiary centers. 

In the letter, Almand Calderó expressed his deep feeling of pain for the loss of Núria, the cook at Mas d'Enric prison, "in such tragic circumstances." An investigation has been launched to determine exactly what happened and, "if necessary, introduce corresponding improvements."