The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Police Staff Association (PSA) has won its appeal in a landmark case against the government concerning millions in overtime pay for officers who worked additional hours during separate periods in 2013 and 2014.

The Christie Administration appealed the ruling after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the PSA last year. 

However, Acting Court of Appeal President Jon Isaacs, Justice Crane Scott and Justice Roy Jones dismissed the government’s appeal yesterday.

Supreme Court Justice Milton Evans had ruled that a Force Order issued by former Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson in 2003 was relevant to the case as it mandated that public officers be paid when they work for more than 40 hours in a normal work week.

The government argued that this Order wasn’t applicable because of its references to the Employment Act, which it said does not apply to police officers.

Justice Evans disagreed, noting that the Order specifically referred to the issue of overtime pay for officers.

Attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, who represented the PSA, said the Commissioner of Police will determine whether to pay officers or to give them an proportionate amount of time off.

If the choice is made to give pay to the officers, the government could end up paying as much as $16.4m, according to the PSA’s analysis.

Dwight Smith, PSA chairman, said the matter should not have had to be settled by Court.

“Sometimes one is lost for words,” he said when contacted yesterday. “How did we get here in the first place? What was notable about the comments that was made by Justice Evans is that they were also made by one of the justices in the appellate court, which is, why were we unable to talk this matter out? The PSA wanted to talk this through, but there was no respect being noted. One of the justices asked “why is there no dialogue between the association and management on policies so everyone would be on the same page. Why aren’t we able to sit around the table when it comes to issues affecting the body of police officers?”

Mr Smith said he doubted he would see concrete decisions made by the commissioner “until after the referendum.”

“They would have to reach out to us once the attorney general would’ve already dealt with them on the matter,” he said.

Mr Smith said the Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade had told him that he never requested that Justice Evans’ ruling be appealed.