Algerian security personnel to protest at work conditions

More than 22,000 security officers in Algeria have decided to stage a sit-in in protest at their conditions of employment. The protest will take place from the 20 April in front of government offices. They are seeking their employment rights and a basic law to regulate their profession.

The Algerian newspaper Alfajr said that the National Council for Security and Prevention (NCSP), which is under the umbrella of the National Independent Union for Users of Public Administration, is instructing its members across many different sectors in Algeria to take part in the sit-in.

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“The concerns of the security workers can now be acted on only by the government,” said Mansari Ahmed of the NCSP. Officials have failed to meet the workers’ demands, he added. “The information received so far indicates that the authorities are preparing for a basic law to regulate the security and prevention profession, but this is being done without extending an invitation to us, as a partner, to submit our suggestions for the content of the law.”

Mansari pointed out that security personnel “feel like chess pieces” in a game. This is unacceptable, he said. “Other trade and professional bodies are consulted on such matters, and our members deserve the same opportunity.”