diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/upstart/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/upstart/default.nix
index 7be6cfe65c7..30481782d64 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/upstart/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/upstart/default.nix
@@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     url = http://upstart.ubuntu.com/download/upstart-0.3.0.tar.bz2;
     md5 = "269046f41c6418225306280044a799eb";
   };
+  configureFlags = "--enable-compat";
 }