State agrees to pay IDC guards salary arrears, gratuity

DETENTION officers at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) are set to receive arrears of salary and gratuity after the State agreed to admit liability.

Some 26 officers challenged the State for payment. The Attorney General's decision to accept liability will also benefit all their colleagues at the IDC.

A consent order has been formulated by attorneys for the officers and the State. It was agreed there should be judgement for the claimants against the State with regard to liability, with damages, including interest, and costs, to be assessed by a Master of the High Court.

The consent order was presented to Justice Margaret Mohammed for approval.

In their claims, the officers sought their outstanding arrears of salary from September 1, 2015-August 31, 2018.

They also asked for their outstanding payment of gratuity for that period, as well as interest.

They said in August 2015, the Immigration Division entered into an agreement with them, for three years, with an interim salary of $5,300 per month, vacation, personal and sick leave and a gratuity of 20 per cent gross salary earned. They signed a formal contract with the division which said they would be paid $7,500 per month from September 1, 2015-December 31, 2016, and from January 1, 2017-August 31, 2018 their salary would increase to $7,900.

For supervisors, it was agreed that they would be paid $8,000 with the same benefits and gratuity and their salary would increase to $10,400 for the first two years and to $10,900 for the last year.

The officers, in their breach of contract claim, said they have not received the increases nor the gratuity.