Police officers are threatening to turn up the heat over the seven-month delay in their backpay and have given the State until the end of the month to pay the money owing.
This from the leadership of the T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association yesterday.
Speaking at a hastily arranged media briefing, at their office upstairs the Besson Street Police Station, Port-of-Spain, association president Anand Ramesar said if the ultimatum was not met they would head to court.
“Should there be failure to commence then we are going to respond just in the manner that we should treat in the particular issue. We have already discussed the matter with our lawyers so there would be a legal position, in terms of treating with that particular issue. There would also be a membership issue,” Ramesar said.
Making reference to Prime Minister Keith Rowley’s call on national security and law enforcement officers to double their efforts, Ramesar said that there was no need to double efforts when it comes to paying them their backpay.
“Just make a little effort because at this point in time, we are seeing no effort at all, and the information we are hearing that is coming to us is very damning to our morale and if anybody has spoken about how morale is impacting on performance, we have heard the Prime Minister speak about it and we are saying to you, don’t just talk about how we are suffering, and how low morale is affecting us.
“You are the Prime Minister, and you have the capacity, you are head of the National Security Council, we are putting this matter into your hands and we are calling on you to intervene and ensure that police officers, that payment of their backpay commence by the end of March 2016,” Ramesar said.
Ramesar noted that while the association does not lead any industrial action he would only say that “in every organisation you tend to have informal behaviour; the association is very mindful that that could be a reality, and I know the relevant stakeholders are aware that could be a reality.”
On March 23, 2015, police officers in a co-ordinated operation blocked the main roadways in Trinidad and Tobago, in what was described as a Day of Total Policing, during the height of their negotiations, which in effect shut down the country. Many people believed the action was linked to the negotiations but a parliamentary investigation found no evidence to support that view.
Ramesar said yesterday that police officers had been promised that payment would have started in October, last year, then it moved to December, then it moved to January and since January, he said, they have heard no more talk about it.
“Should we wait any longer, it wouldn’t be fair to the membership at all. We have waited seven months and when you look at the period where we have waited which is characterised by no communication to the association and we want communication that is direct and specific to police officers that addresses the issue concerning police officers.
“We are not minded to listen to the general conversation that is being spoken in the public. We have a specific issue and we expect that we would be addressed in relation to that,” Ramesar said.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert said earlier this year that public servants’ outstanding backpay would likely be paid by September.
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Query over promotions,
$1m survivor benefit
In relation to the survivor benefit of $1 million for the family of police officers killed in the line of duty, Ramesar said to date no money has been allocated for payment of the survivors.
“We continue to see police officers lose their lives while being committed to policing in TT. At the very least, we are saying this matter should be given some level of priority. The lives of police officers is not being given the priority and the value that it should be and it is unfair to ask us to redouble our efforts to work extra, to go the extra distance and the simple things like welfare is not being attended to as a matter of priority. The scales must be even as we move forward,” Ramesar said.
Ramesar also noted that promotions remain a big issue, and that acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams needs to say when he is going to commence promotion of corporals to sergeants.
He disclosed that a letter was sent to Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon three weeks ago requesting a meeting in relation to matters affecting the welfare of police officers. However, Dillon is yet to respond.