KEVON FELMINE
Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
While many police and fire officers had a disappointing Christmas after checking their bank balances and realising they had not received their Government-promised backpay, many are hopeful this month.
Minister of Finance Colm Imbert promised a merry Christmas to public servants whose bargaining body signed off on the Personnel Department’s four per cent salary increase. During the Government’s budget presentation last October, Imbert committed to allocating $1 billion to settle wage matters by Christmas. While the Ministry of Finance disbursed the funds, many servicemen and women are still waiting.
Fire Service Association president Keone Guy said that despite the hard work of the Fire Service’s Accounting Department, staffing challenges prevented many officers from receiving their backpay before Christmas. Regarding auxiliary fire officers, he said the unavailability of pay sheets was the keep-back. Approximately 2000 fire officers were in line for the backpay, with 300 still waiting. Of the 300 auxiliary fire officers, 200 did not receive retroactive payments.
Guy said the officers were tremendously disappointed, especially seeing some colleagues receiving their payments while they were without.
“What was worse was the lack of communication. I believe that if the communication process was improved to inform the officers who were to be affected negatively, they would have been able to prepare for it a little better and make arrangements during the Christmas season,” Guy said.
Guy said information from the Fire Service indicates that the Accounting Department will include outstanding retroactive payments in the officers’ January salaries. However, he said there is information that not all officers may receive their backpay this month.
“Unfortunately, we are receiving some negative or not-so-favourable information so far, which seems to mean they may not be able to meet that commitment as it is right now, so we are continuing to investigate the matter with the hope of ensuring that all officers receive their rightful compensation in a timely and efficient manner.”
Meanwhile, Police Social Welfare Association president (PSWA) ASP Gideon Dickson said almost 40 per cent of first and second-division police officers and 70-80 per cent of Special Reserve Police (SRP) officers got their backpay last month. He said most of the SRPs got their backpay as they have fewer allowances, making their payments simple to calculate.
Dickson said the TTPS internal processes failed, resulting in many officers awaiting their back pay. However, the PSWA hopes that all officers will get their backpay with this month’s salary. He said those with sick and administrative leave issues might encounter some problems.
He said the last time the officer received backpay was around 2015/2016 for the 2011-2013 bargaining period. He said there was heavy attrition between then and now, with less experienced people in the various departments determining the rate of processing worksheets and audits.
He called on those workers to not look at the clock and go beyond to ensure the officers got their payment.
“The funds are there, but our internal mechanisms failed us. I know it has been revisited, and all hands are on deck. We are attempting to ensure that the deadline set by the Commissioner of Police (CoP) is adhered to by those tasked with this objective,” Dickson said.
He said officers in the departments responsible for handling backpay are working towards the CoP’s target as the officers deserve their funds.
Dickson said there was disappointment when many officers did not see their back pay last month. He said people have a misconception that police officers are not human beings with feelings like everyone else. However, they come from communities and share the same issues as everyone.
“The police have to go to the grocery, the gas pump and pay our utility bills. We have kids in higher education. We also have to invest in higher education for development purposes. Officers had an expectation because statements were made by those in authority that it would have been done by a particular time. It stands to reason that officers would have felt disappointed.”
Dickson said because of the officers’ oath of office, they had to shake it off and continue to perform as if everything was the same when it was not.
He called on officers within the necessary administrative departments not to look at the clock when processing backpay.
“It needs you to get it done effectively and professionally. You will be rewarded because your brother and sister police on the outside to combat crime are doing the fighting while you are on the inside, supporting, and their expectation is that their funds are coming their way. You might benefit from the extra effort as you too can get your back pay,” he added.