Petrina Francis & Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporters

Members of the Island Special Constabulary Force patrol downtown Kingston yesterday after rank-and-file members of the Police Federation took industrial action over stalled wage negotiations. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips has intervened in the salary dispute between the Police Federation and the Ministry of Finance, following an islandwide sick-out by hundreds of rank-and-file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) yesterday.

Dr. Phillips announced yesterday that he is to meet with the Police Federation executive today with a view to restart negotiations.

"It is my hope that both sides (the Ministry of Finance and the Police Federation) will resume negotiations promptly in view of the paramount interest of all law-abiding citizens in having a secured environment within which to conduct their business," said Dr. Phillips in a statement issued yesterday.

On Monday, some 200 delegates of the Police Federation voted to take "strong action" to force the Government to make a favourable wage offer. The police union was particularly peeved after Junior Finance Minister, Fitz Jackson, called the federation negotiators' skills "impractical, immature and an insult to people's intelligence." His comments sparked outrage among federation delegates, some parading caricatures of Jackson with the apocalyptic mark of the beast, 666.

As a result, operations at several police stations and courts were disrupted on Monday evening and intensified yesterday as many rank-and-file officers called in sick.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Arthur Brown of the Denham Town Police Station said some 20 police officers did not report for work yesterday. This, he said, affected operations at the station, as there were fewer mobile and foot patrols.

Proceedings in the criminal courts in the Corporate Area and St. James were severely affected by the sick-out. Scores of accused persons in custody in Kingston were not taken to court. The cases, some of which were for trial yesterday, were put off for other dates.

A few policemen turned up at the courthouses and some who were in plain clothes said they were "only passing through". The courts affected were the Home Circuit Court, the Gun Court and the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

Major Charlene Steer, information officer at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), said the army has been on alert since Monday.

"All our troops are aware that they can be called to assist the police," she said.

In St. Ann, many policemen and women failed to report for duty. Throughout the day only a handful of lawmen were seen at the various police stations across the parish and all were dressed in plain clothes. By late afternoon, the number had sharply declined.

At the St. Ann's Bay Police Station, some police personnel were seen hanging around the compound and only two of their colleagues made themselves available for station guard duty.

And there was a noticeable absence of police officers from the streets of Montego Bay. In the hot spots of Norwood and Bottom Pen, soldiers were called in to maintain 24-hour patrol in those areas.

"We are waiting for the evening shift to see the exact impact of the sick-out. We are still carrying out our functions with less numbers," Senior Superintendent Jasmine Tomlinson-Brown, acting head of the Area One Police Division, said yesterday afternoon.

Area One includes the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland.

In Hanover, the division was hampered by the absence of officers, especially at the divisional headquarters in Lucea.

And in Westmoreland, all the police stations had reports of personnel calling in sick.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, yesterday reassured the nation that all possible measures were being taken to mitigate the effects of the action taken by some members of the JCF. Some of these measures, Mr. Thomas said, include the strategic redeployment of personnel from the Island Special Constabulary Force and the full deployment of senior JCF officers and other officers who report for regular duties.

The police union is pressing the Government for a 45 per cent increase in year one and 30 per cent in year two. But the Finance Ministry has proposed a 12.5 per cent increase in year one and five per cent in year two.

Additional reporting by Correspondent Devon Evans and the Western Bureau.