The Tribune

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has called on the government to give police officers overtime pay owed to them as he urged Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade to meet with the Police Staff Association on the matter.

Last week, The Tribune reported that the commissioner has decided to give officers time back as compensation for the controversial 12-hour shifts they worked at separate periods in 2013 and 2014. Officers who have since retired but worked the extra shift will receive monetary compensation for the hours worked, The Tribune was told.

Attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, who represents the PSA, has said the commissioner’s plan is impractical and will threaten public safety.

“We urge the commissioner of police to immediately consult with the Police Staff Association to resolve this problem,” Dr Minnis said yesterday. “If there was not so much corruption and wastage in the system, such as at the Road Traffic Department, the government would have more than adequate money to pay police officers overtime.

“We urge the commissioner of police to commence immediate consultation with the PSA to resolve this matter. They should pay the police, they sacrifice their own families just to keep the country safe.”

He said if crime continues to rise, or if there were more international travel warnings from the US or Canada, police resources would be over stretched. He also chastised the government for putting money in “the wrong direction” - such as in areas like Junkanoo Carnival – but not having funding to compensate police officers.

Last week, the PSA said it is not ready to accept the commissioner’s decision and the organisation lamented the lack of consultation between the group and senior national security figures on the matter.

It is not clear how the force will determine how much time officers should receive for every 12-hour shift they worked. The Supreme Court ordered, however, that the compensation be received within a year.

PSA Chairman Dwight Smith said that at the very least, this means more than 2,000 officers will be entitled to three months and two days off.

This comes after the Court of Appeal earlier this year upheld a landmark Supreme Court ruling ordering the government to compensate police officers for working 12-hour shifts at different periods in 2013 and 2014.