The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER watching other law enforcement officers advance, the Correctional Officers Staff Association has insisted that now is not the time for the government to withhold promotions for deserving officers.

Corporal Hervie Culmer, president of the association, told The Tribune the situation has lowered staff morale and officers feel “second class” after having worked hard to receive what is due to them. They have had to watch colleagues at the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Force be promoted, while they continue to wait.

He said their service continued to be “second to none” despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is why it has become disheartening, Cpl Culmer said, for officers to be overlooked for promotions that they were promised almost a year ago.

According to Cpl Culmer, National Security Minister Marvin Dames assured correctional officers last year that they would receive promotions, but nothing has happened since.

Mr Dames did not respond to a request for comment up to press time.

“When the association speaks we speak on behalf of the staff. I do not think that now is the time to make correctional officers feel second class,” Cpl Culmer said yesterday. “We are faced with a pandemic and again officers continue to show up to work and continue to put out.

“So I just put it like this: Now is not the time to not give us what we deserve.”

The association president said more than 150 officers were eligible for promotions.

“The exercise has been long overdue,” Cpl Culmer also said. “November coming will make one year since the minister attended our church service and assured every officer in attendance that the promotion would shortly follow.

“It’s almost been a year now and the exercise was in place before then so definitely it’s long overdue. The officers deserve it. This is not something that we are asking or begging for. We deserve this.”

He also said: “Not to only highlight the promotional exercise, but I am pretty sure whenever the exercise is released you would definitely see a boost in morale around the department.

“Recently, I saw the minister responsible for public service and National Insurance, Brensil Rolle made a comment that all promotions and increments will be deferred to the next budget, well the thing is our promotional exercise was in the pipeline before the pandemic.

“It was on the table so that should not be an issue as it relates to the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

“There are definitely more concerns and more pressing matters just as important as the promotions but as it stands the powers that be just need to release our promotional exercise. Our colleagues - the police force and defence force - have received theirs and again our service is second to none. We deserve and we want our promotions.”

Recently, Mr Rolle said: “Increments, promotions, confirmations, and re-classifications of all public officers will be deferred for the 2020/2021 budget year. The number of persons in each ministry will not increase. New hires will only occur in special circumstances with direct Cabinet approval.”

Mr Rolle said those increments, confirmations, and re-classifications will resume when the economic circumstances allow, with the deferment amounting to “millions of dollars” the government does not have to spend at this time.