Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Executive members of the Police Federation, (from left) Sergeant Daniel McKinley, Inspector Handel Morgan, Corporal Raymond Wilson, chaiman, and Sergeant David White. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
THE LOWEST-paid constable would get an additional $14,887 on his $31,676 monthly salary if the Police Federation gets the 47 per cent salary increase for which it is lobbying.
The federation has been at loggerheads with the Ministry of Finance over a salary increase for some time now. The Police Federation, led by chairman Raymond Wilson, is lobbying for a 47 per cent raise for the Jamaica Constabulary Force's 8,000 members, but Minister of Finance Dr. Omar Davies, says Government cannot meet those terms.
Currently, the minimum pay for a constable is $31,676 with the maximum for that rank being $35,839. With the proposed increase, those figures would jump to $46,563 and $52,683, respectively, before tax.
For corporals, the present salaries are $36,832 and $41,672. A 47 per cent hike would bring those figures up to $54,143 and $61,257.
A sergeant's salary stands at $41,848 and $47,347. After the federations expected revision they would receive $61,516 and $69,600.
Inspectors are the highest rank among members of the force. Their monthly salary is minimum $47,602 and maximum $53,857. With an increase, those figures would be a more respectable $69,974 and $79,167.
The Police Federation is also seeking a 47 per cent increase in their monthly housing allowance. The housing allowance is critical to the lawmen, who are sometimes transferred outside of their hometowns and are forced to pay additional rents and sometimes maintain their families elsewhere. As it stands now, constables get $14,000, corporals $15,000, sergeants $16,500 and inspectors $19,000.
The Government has a three per cent salary rise cap for public sector workers negotiated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with their union representatives. Apart from the impact of the cost of a major salary settlement on the Government's delicately balanced budget, there is also concern that an agreement outside the terms of the MoU would cause it to unravel.
Government and the Police Federation have agreed terms for salary increases five times in the last 13 years, the last coming in September 2002 when the parties sealed a two-year agreement worth $1.8 billion.
In February 1993, the Police Federation led by Sergeant James Forbes, were awarded $911.8 million for the 1992-1994 period by an independent arbitration panel. At the time, it was the most substantive raise to rank-and-file members in the history of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Last week, while federation members met with officials from the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of National Security, over 2,000 cops stayed off the job, in protest, for three consecutive days. On Thursday, they scoffed at Government's one-time offer of $300 million.
