Speaking with Lusa, the president of the Trade Union Association of Chiefs of the Prison Guards Corps (ASCCGP), Hermínio Barradas, referred a general situation for after 10am, but said he had already received information of a 100% cooperation at least in these three prisons.

"People are leaving and there is some confusion," the official said, adding, "we don't have minimum service means. The chiefs who declare themselves on strike are leaving and the guards are left alone, with the director."

According to Barradas, "on Friday there was another strike and two [chiefs] remained in large prisons and one in small prisons," but "today no chief remains in any prison, as long as they declare themselves on strike.”

In terms of security inside the jails, Hermínio Barradas said that "we cannot fail to take into account that a five-day strike by the largest union has ended, in which the inmates were only in the yard for two hours and all activities have been pending since Tuesday".

The reason for the strike relates to the demand for a new professional status, payment and other demands. In a statement on the reasons for the strike, the ASCCGP noted the "inactivity, apathy and disregard of the Ministry of Justice regarding the problems of the prison system", further criticising the "Government’s decision to continue to ignore the existence of an unprecedented lack of staff which is risky.

According to the trade union association, the chief prison guards want the creation of a new professional statute, the regulation of performance evaluation of the prison guard corps, the opening of competitions for all categories, the payment of the prison security supplement and the resolution of structural problems in the prison system.