The Prison Officers Association wants to know when more than 200 warders who sought appointments to their posts six months ago will get their gift.
Most were hoping it would be before Christmas, but that may not be the case.
“In the last few months we have seen hundreds of appointments within the Civil Service,” a concerned president of the Prisons Officers Association, Trevor Browne told the SUNDAY SUN in an exclusive interview recently.
“There have been appointments at the Sanitation Service Authority and in the teaching service. In fact, there have also been appointments all over the Civil Service. Our members are very anxious to hear when prison officers will get their due,” Browne added.
He revealed more than 220 warders had started the appointment process in June this year, but the only thing they heard was the sound of silence.
“That’s one of the reasons morale continues to be quite low among membership. We are not hearing anything from the people above us,” the president claimed.
According to Browne, there was a rumour circulating that just under 70 warders would be appointed.
“That hasn’t been confirmed by management, but that number could not be right. What we really want is for the powers that be to tell us when the appointments will be approved.”
Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant John Nurse is on holiday, but his deputy, chief of custody, Cedrick Moore said appointments were handled by Government’s Service Commission and Personnel Administration Division in conjunction, so he could not comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Prison Officers Association’s legal battle with management of the prison will trickle into 2018.
The association earned a victory in the Supreme Court last week, when a judge turned down a stay of execution request by management at Dodds to deny them access to a specific room at the facility they used as an office.
The association had used the room before it was locked, which prompted the legal action to regain its use, but Browne is far from satisfied with the conditions.
“There are still restrictions which are in place that will prevent us from functioning as an association. At the moment we can only use the office from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. So we still have a secretary who is placed on a shift system, and not in a position to use the office whenever it is needed. He could be stationed to work nights or evenings, and in many instances we would still be without a secretary,” the outspoken president explained.
In October, Madame Justice Sonia Richards ordered management of the prison to allow them access to the office, but 24 hours later the Solicitor General’s Office appealed that decision.
But the prison officers earned the same victory again last week, and moved into the facility.
The association is now waiting on a second matter to be heard by the court on January 8 next year, regarding the working hours scheduled for the secretary. (BA)