The Police Federation says it’s prepared to take legal action against the Andrew Holness-led administration if it follows through on a plan to make retroactive payments to rank and file members of the police force at the end of this month.
In a statement yesterday, the police federation says it’s prepared to use all available legal means because it’s yet to sign a wage agreement for the 2017-2019 contract period currently under negotiation.
The Federation says the legal action is to ensure the sanctity of the negotiation process is preserved.
Finance Minister Audley Shaw had indicated that members of the public sector will be paid retroactive sums from last year at the end of this month, despite a number of public sector workers, including teachers and nurses, rejecting the government’s wage offer. But the Police Federation says the Finance Ministry’s actions would amount to ‘a serious breach of trust and good faith’.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Police Federation, Sergeant Cecil McCalla, says Finance Minister Audley Shaw’s claim of an effective 34-percent salary increase over four years to public sector workers is ‘erroneous’. He says those computations were never placed on the table in meetings with the government and would have been vigorously challenged if they were.
The Police Federation Chairman says what’s being purported as a 34% increase over 4 years is fundamentally flawed.
Sergeant McCalla says the Federation has written to the Finance Minister expressing their concerns. He says the Federation is awaiting a response.
–30–
