Special Reserve Police and some Municipal Officers are at risk of finding themselves without representation, amid a legal challenge to their eligibility to take part in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association elections.
However Association President Gideon Dickson says, he is confident come July 8th when the substantive matter comes up for hearing, the Judge will see reason. Rynessa Cutting reports.
00:00Come next Tuesday, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association will have to disclose to a high court judge how much money and dues it has collected from special reserve and municipal officers and the legal basis through which it collected the monies.
00:17The association president notes, however, this practice has been ongoing for decades.
00:23The association position is that we can represent all our members. We have been representing all our members from time immoral to present.
00:33There is a record in the association dating back from as early as 1992 where special reserve officers have been members of the association and there might even be records even before that.
00:45Our municipal officers, there are records dated back from as early as 2012 or thereabouts where we have been providing representation for the municipal officers and there is even a Privy Council judgment wherein the municipal officers were successful
01:03and it would have triggered the introduction of the municipal regulation from 2014, it is the association who would have provided representation for the municipal officers since then.
01:17But Dixon acknowledges that the association does not have RMU status to represent these categories of officers.
01:24We as an association have never purported to the municipal nor the SRPs that we are the recognized bargaining body for negotiations.
01:35As a matter of fact, we are dealing with that process as we speak.
01:39We have a matter that is related to take place this month regarding the municipal officers' recognition status
01:46and that in itself will put to rest the issue and the concerns as to whether the association could bargain with the CPO and other stakeholders for terms and condition issues regarding the municipal.
02:00As it relates to the special reserve officers, we have been on a drive since I've entered office and more so within the last 18 months
02:08to acquire the required amount of signatures of our special reserve officers so that we could take to the CPO to become the recognized bargaining body for the special reserve officers.
02:20We are approximately 250 to 300 signatures away from that.
02:25He notes SRPs, transit police and municipal officers make up just under one third of the collective force together with the TDPS and says he believes the judge will see reason.
02:38Their welfare concerns are in fact almost the same and it is smarter to have one body doing the representation on behalf of all the bodies.
02:56So I think that a win for the association in this matter will be a win for all in law enforcement, all who contribute towards the safety and security of the nation.
03:15And we are confident that the judge will see it that way.
03:23The matter came to the fore after a slate in the association's executive elections challenged the eligibility of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anand Ramasar, to participate in the elections,
03:35as well as the eligibility of non-TTPS members to participate in the elections.
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