Building a Better Jamaica

The Sunday Herald
Sunday July 20, 2008  Written by: No Author

Chairman of the Police Federation, Corporal Raymond Wilson, last week told Prime Minister Bruce Golding that the federation would welcome any approach that would balance performance with pay, in keeping with the modern era in which the country is moving.

“We would welcome any approach that would balance performance with pay. Naturally the issue of proper assessment of how people work and how they are compensated is something that any strategic direction must take into consideration,” Corporal Wilson said.

His comments were made during a meeting at Jamaica House and followed a discussion in which the Prime Minister said the government would want to have further talks with the federation about the taskforce’s recommendation of a review of emoluments within the Jamaica Constabulary Force that is performance-driven and defined by improved quality of service.

In his remarks, Golding said while he was reluctant to discuss matters relating to salaries, since they were the subject of negotiations between the federation and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the government hoped to get the federation’s support on the issue relating to performance pay.

“We (the government) hope we are going to be able to get your support for a review and restructuring of the emoluments for the force, so that it is more performance-driven and based on a process of evaluation,” the PM said. He said the recommendation which came out of the recently concluded strategic review, calls for a fair and objective appraisal system which would guide promotions and pay incentives.

He said the government was appreciative of the work of the men and women of the police force, noting that in addition to the challenges facing Jamaicans, they also faced a particular challenge in relation to the work that they do.

“There is nobody in the government that is unappreciative of the difficulties that the members of the police force face. They face the same difficulties of inflation and the impact that has on the value of their living arrangement. But also, they face a particular difficulty because of the nature of the work that they do, the extraordinary hours that they have to work, and the risks to which they are exposed,” Golding said.

He said the government has in principle accepted a 40-hour work week for the security force and that an implementation strategy was to be finalised. He said, however, that the government was not in a position to implement the 40-hour work week in one go, due to budgetary constraints, and would welcome further discussion with the federation about a phased implementation.

The federation representatives hinted that the organisation could not agree to a phased implementation, but said they would prefer to accommodate some concessions in compensation, which took into account the current budgetary constraints.

The meeting discussed a wide range of issues affecting the police force, including the creation of an independent investigating authority and the need to improve the image and public perception of the force. 

In the meantime, the Prime Minister has set a further meeting with the federation, to discuss the recommendations arising from the Strategic Review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Golding was joined at the meeting by Minister of National Security, Colonel Trevor MacMillan; Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin; Gilbert Scott, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security; and Patricia Sinclair McCalla, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. Corporal Wilson was accompanied by other executive members of the Police Federation.