“One of the sessions of Operation Phoenix [a case involving the illegal use of private security guards], scheduled for Friday, will not happen as there will be no staff to guarantee the security and transport of the prisoners,” Jorge Alves said at a press conference in front of the Monsanto court.

The strike by GISP, an elite prison service unit, which began on Tuesday, is intended to protest against a lack of working conditions, lack of training and security in prison facilities.

“Becoming a member of GISP is stringent and should be stringent, but at a certain point we won’t have staff old enough or with enough experience to be able to apply to be part of the group and we will have to wait even longer and that could make it more difficult to manage a group like ours on a day to day basis,” the union leader said.

Alves said GISP, “should and has to exist because it is the last recourse for the safety of the prison service (..) GISP [made up of 120 members] is the last safeguard for whoever works in prisons.”