The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS from the Bahamas Prison Officers Association yesterday said that they are “hopeful” a resolution will soon be reached between staff members of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and the government.

Association president, Sgt Gregory Archer confirmed that executives from the BPOA met with National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage to discuss “in detail” the list of issues facing officers at the DCS.

He said: “We did meet with the minister of national security. He allowed us the opportunity to voice our concerns and he indicated that he is willing to work through a number of the issues we laid out.”

Sgt Archer added: “We will meet again next week and hopefully at that point we will have all of these issues in order, hopefully at that point we will have everything resolved.”

Last week nearly two-thirds of the prison officers scheduled to work called in sick for three consecutive days. Sgt Archer denied all reports of a “sick out” and claimed all officers not to work had “legitimate sick slips”.

He suggested that officers were “sick and tired” as a result of poor working conditions at the facility in Fox Hill.

Sgt Archer said that the complaints expressed by his association were not new and insisted that the government had been made aware of the problems, but refused to resolve the matter.

Sgt Archer suggested that the government do the admirable thing and sit down with staff to correct “the poor working standards at the prison”.

“We wanted a formal meeting with State Minister (Keith) Bell or Minister (Bernard) Nottage and the staff has done all in our power to meet either of them to resolve the problems we have.

“The government has made it a habit to tell us that there is no money to correct the problems we have but if you look around the prison compound there are a number of projects springing up. Where is that money coming from?”

Meanwhile, Caribbean Association of Corrections (CAC) executives revealed in a statement released last week that the group is “very concerned” with present issues facing officers at the correctional facility.

The group believes if issues at the facility are not corrected, the situation has the potential to “disrupt the smooth operations at the correctional facility”.

CAC public relations officer, Rajkumar Ramroop, indicated that the CAC executive body has been paying close attention to the recent developments in the Bahamas and hope for a “positive outcome”.

Mr Ramroop said: “We are appealing to all sides to allow good sense to prevail and meet with a view to resolving the issues”.

He added: “If this is not dealt with it will threaten the safety and security of the Bahamian people. We hold the firm view that dialogue and proper communication is the key to resolving this current dilemma.”

The group said it was willing to be a part of the mediation process between prison officers and the government.

The CAC is a regional committee that facilitates active participation in an effort to advance correctional interest as well as promote the welfare of correctional officers.