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  • 1 year ago
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association is threatening to take legal action against the Police Service over backpay for officers.


The Association states that over two thousand officers are affected by what it labels "an administrative" problem.


A retired officer who says he's negatively impacted, has resorted to a hunger strike.


Alicia Boucher tells us more.
Transcript
00:00It's day one of the one-man hunger strike started by Denz Garrett, a now-retired police
00:05corporal who proceeded on pro-retirement in 2016 before his tenure ended in 2018.
00:11Garrett, like many other police officers, is eagerly awaiting his back pay, which they
00:16were expecting to get before Christmas 2023 or in January 2024, as announced by Finance
00:23Minister Colman Byrd, for which the funds were subsequently allocated.
00:28For what is now close to a year without the money in hand, Garrett felt compelled to vent
00:33his frustration in front of the police administration building in Port of Spain.
00:56Yet for this retiree, the back pay is a chance at rebuilding his life.
01:26Garrett tells us he has been given yet another timeline for Friday, November 8, and he's
01:38waiting on a call from police admin staff.
01:42That call, he says, will determine if he returns before the week is out to continue protesting,
01:47which he plans on undertaking until he gets his money.
01:50To get an idea of the overall situation, TV6 News contacted President of the TNT Police
01:56Service Social and Welfare Association, Gideon Dixon, who calls it a precarious position
02:01facing the retirees.
02:21He adds that over 800 serving officers are in the situation as well, representing approximately
02:272,400 present and former officers who are being owed.
02:32According to Dixon, when the funds were disbursed by the government, the administration of the
02:37TTPS took a decision to settle the accounts of the serving members first.
02:42But as it stands now, the association is fed up.
02:50We have, as an association, decided to put this in the hands of our TNTs so that we could
02:56try to bring about some form of redress.
03:01Going forward, our TNTs will be reaching out with a correctional protocol letter to have
03:07this matter addressed.
03:08Dixon claims that several promises have been made by the administration to resolve the
03:13issue, but so far, there are lots of excuses as to why it is not being done.
03:19So it started where we had movement of manpower, the experienced persons, and they would have
03:28moved on.
03:29We brought back in those persons, some persons from the service concerned.
03:33We even collaborated with our allies in law enforcement to bring them into assist.
03:37They said that they had issues with sick leave for officers, and the new personnel there
03:45weren't fully trained to do the back pay.
03:47These numerous excuses have been put on the table.
03:50The TTPS SWA believes it only serves to deplete the moral among the officers.
03:56Dixon tells us that a pre-action protocol is expected to be delivered this week,
04:01following which, he says, the natural judicial course will follow.
04:05However, he expresses hope and optimism that the issue will be resolved
04:10before the matter reaches the court.
04:12Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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