The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY’S Supreme Court ruling ordering that overtime pay be paid to police officers who have worked 12-hour shifts within the last two years is a game-changer for law enforcement agencies across the board, Police Staff Association President Dwight Smith declared yesterday.

Acting Attorney General Damian Gomez told The Tribune that the government has not yet determined whether it would appeal Justice Milton Evans’ decision, saying officials are likely to discuss the way forward on the matter today.

Nonetheless, the ruling means that the government may end up having to pay millions of dollars to police officers who worked overtime between separate periods in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) effort to curb the country’s violent crime rate.

It could also establish a precedent that forces the police force to start paying overtime to officers in the future.

For Mr Smith, the ruling has important implications not only for police officers, but for prison officers, defence force officers and immigration officers, all of whom, he said, have struggled to gain the government’s ear and have their requests met in the past.

“I sit in a position where I hear horror stories from prison officers, defence force officers and from police where people are losing their families because they are spending too much time on the job and losing their youthfulness to these jobs, so this is a vindication for us all and a move to give all the award they deserve,” he said.

Gregory Archer, the PSA President, agreed, telling The Tribune yesterday: “This opens the door for all of us. We’ve been addressing the issue internally where we are called upon to work overtime and they give us the time back but all that does is add up to the record, accumulating time off that you often don’t use.

“This ruling is a plus for us and will make the administration more careful when ordering overtime and the like. If we were to take our matters before the court now, the police’s ruling takes precedent.”

In his ruling, Justice Evans said a Force Order issued by former Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson in 2003 was relevant to the matter, as it mandated that public officers be paid when they work for more than 40 hours in a normal 40-hour work week.

Although counsel for the government argued that the Order isn’t applicable because of its references to the Employment Act, which does not apply to police officers, Justice Evans determined that the salient point is that the Commissioner had clearly set out the terms applicable to “officers who work overtime”.

Mr Smith said police officers have responded to the ruling with elation.

“A lot of officers feel now they have the ability to work,” he said. “This was never about whether we should work if the country needs it, but it’s about when you’re overburdened. When officers are suffering, they must feel that they are valued something.”

However, he said: “The sad thing about this is we still have to sit down with the government because a lot has to be worked out (in terms of who gets paid and how much), because some officers who worked 12 hours have either left the force or have died. One of the officers on the writ we filed worked 12-hour shifts while sick and he’s already passed away, but his family should be entitled to that money.

“The officers who called me fool and crazy and I say I gon’ lose my job and they gon’ lock me up for pursuing this have been the first set of officers to call me and say ‘ya get it’ and congratulations.”