While the Police Service Social and Welfare Association is expected to resume talks with Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis today in a bid for increased salaries, the membership is adamant that it will continue to maintain law and order throughout the country through roadblock exercises. This was the word yesterday from the association’s secretary, Insp Michael Seales, as he lauded the islandwide exercise which resulted in the country being virtually shut down as schools and businesses were forced to stop operations yesterday.
Seales also shot back at critics who deemed the measure as industrial action, saying the police were simply doing their jobs. “I fail to see the connection between industrial action and police officers doing their jobs,” he said in a telephone interview. “It is the first time I see police officers doing their legitimate work and in turn being blamed and their action is being classified as some sort of industrial action.” He said he was similarly affected like thousands of people who were caught in the gridlock.
“I too was clueless. I did not know what was taking place when I left my Couva home,” Seales added. On what action police would be taking if today’s talks with the CPO again break down, Seales said he hoped that discussions would be smooth. “At the end the end of the day I am a very optimistic person. I prepare for the worst and I hope for the best,” he said. “We are negotiating tomorrow (today) and we expect to make some headway at negotiations. At the end of the day the association will always do what is right.”
The body’s vice-president Insp Roger Alexander echoed Seales’ comments, saying the Police Service had a mandate for 2016 to reduce crime. “Only weekend gone we saw a police officer shot with a high-powered weapon...several persons would have lost their lives in road accidents,” Alexander said.
“Roadblocks are an effective means whereby the police can treat with persons moving weapons, persons who are armed in vehicles with intention to commit crime, persons who are wanted by the police, persons who are driving vehicles without proper documentation...so the Police Service came out and say, ‘You know what. Let us serve the members of the public in the manner in which we are supposed to serve them.’” While he apologised to the law-abiding citizens for any inconvenience caused, Alexander said the initiative had become necessary to tackle crime.
On whether this was a deliberate effort to hold the country to ransom so as to force the CPO’s hand, Alexander said the police were constantly strategising. “Too many times we come out and tell the public Saturday we are going to keep a roadblock and then nobody is held. Now we cannot do that. The element of surprise is what the police have been successful at over a number of years.” On whether yesterday’s roadblock was a one-off decision he warned that, “Anything could happen at anytime.”
Flashback
President of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Insp Anand Ramesar and his team stormed out of the last meeting with the CPO after salary negotiations once again broke down. Ramesar had said the association was not prepared to accept the CPO’s position that the rank of ASP from the Airports Authority would not be included in the market survey rates they want factored into the talks.
“The basic salary at the Airports Authority, which is almost twice that of an ASP in the Police Service at about $26,500 with no perks and what not... inclusion of that ASP position in our negotiations means that the market shift for a policeman is about 24 per cent. The exclusion of it means that the market shift goes down to about 16 per cent. “The CPO is offering 60 per cent of the 16 per cent over the period 2011 to 2013, which for us is just under ten per cent total. With that in mind, the association is also mindful that teachers get 85 per cent of their market shift,” Ramesar had said.
In response to the recent 14 per cent wage hike for public servants, Ramesar called on Lewis must offer the at least a 14 per cent salary increase for the period 2011 to 2013, if they are to return to the bargaining table.