Port police take a peace walk

ON THE MOVE: Members of the Port Authority branch of the Estate Police Association during their peace walk outside the Parliament building at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain yesterday.
ON THE MOVE: Members of the Port Authority branch of the Estate Police Association during their peace walk outside the Parliament building at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain yesterday.

The Port Authority branch of the Estate Police Association yesterday held a peace walk between the Port of Spain Ferry Terminal and the Port Police headquarters on Dock Road.

The Port police held the peace walk in an effort, once again, to highlight the progress — or lack thereof — in their wage negotiations, which have been going on since 2011.

Speaking with reporters yesterday during the walk, Kurt Mc Clatchie, secretary of the Port Authority branch of the Estate Police Association, said they had been patient, seeing that they have been in negotiations for close to seven years, but now enough is enough. “Yes, we are a quasi-military organisation and...not allowed to take industrial action, but we want to be treated fairly,” said Mc Clatchie.

“Our membership has lost out on offerings in FCB and NGC. Some officers are retired (while waiting for the completion of the negotiations), other officers were waiting on this money to do important surgery and have since died. We are operating on 2010 salaries and we are still coming out and protecting the port 100 per cent.”

Mc Clatchie said the Estate Police Association Port Authority branch went on a media blitz in May last year, in an attempt to move the negotiations forward. The move was successful, but the final procedures have once again been bogged down and a file detailing the negotiations and agreements now sits on a desk in the office of Finance Minister Colm Imbert. He said the negotiation proposal is expected to go before Cabinet.

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"Port police take a peace walk"

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