Cops ‘restless’ over compensation review

President of the Police Federation, Corporal Rohan James, says rank-and-file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are “getting restless” over the snail’s pace at which the Government’s compensation review process is moving.

In a Gleaner interview Thursday, James said he believed that the Government was not “sincere to their cause” and did not have the interest of members of the force at heart.

James said that the federation has been awaiting a response on the compensation review from the Ministry of Finance since they last met in early July.

He said that the minister of finance, with the stroke of a pen, wants to “erode what has been placed in black and white ,which is a government obligation in law with regard to certain emoluments and entitlements”.

The Police Federation boss cautioned against this approach by the Government.

“It has not only collateral damage, but it has legal implications what he is seeking to do,” James said.

The Government had signalled that certain emoluments such as motor vehicle allowance would be rolled into the salary of public officers who are eligible for these benefits.

James suggested that the federation had concerns that the Government might be using dated inflation figures to calculate salaries under the compensation review.

At a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Mark Golding observed that the compensation review is taking place in a high-inflation environment that will necessitate adjustments that will have an impact on the Government’s fiscal accounts.

“The four per cent increase for the last fiscal year, given that inflation is now in double digits, more than 10 per cent, that means that people’s purchasing power and disposable income are being eroded and they are not going to just sit back and accept that,” Golding argued.

He said that the Opposition is also concerned about the issue of equity.

The Government has given a commitment that no public-sector worker would be worse off at the end of the pay review.

However, Golding said that that consideration will require realistically valuing non-cash benefits.

“That could be a contentious issue because if you are treating something that was a benefit where you can take it away and not put anything back, then you really not achieving the same net results,” he said.

These are hard issues that could cause the negotiations to be tough, said Golding.

The opposition leader said it appears that the Government will attempt to achieve near-parity with the private sector for certain positions it deems to be highly strategic and important.

He believes that those positions will receive huge increases relative to the current rates and that workers at lower levels will also see pay rises.

However, Golding believes that the workers between those two extremes might not be happy with their salary adjustments.

“We are not part of those negotiations, and the Government has not been keeping the public abreast of how they are going, but the unions who are on it from time to time, we have conversations with them, and I know that there are some challenges in the process,” he said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com