Prison officers want to meet PM to discuss working conditions and money

Prisons officers met briefly Thursday with the Prime Minister's National Security Adviser, Gary Griffith, and told him that they want certain demands met as soon as possible or they might catch the same illness that has been afflicting police officers.

“We cannot strike or take protest action," Prisons Officers Association general secretary Burton Hill told Griffith. However said officers can chose to work according to rules. "That is their choice. Sometimes officers become very demotivated if they feel their demands aren’t met,” he said.

“Nobody is sick at this moment. We hope the illness that affected the Police Service does not go across to the prisons. We hope it is not some airborne disease,” he said.

The association handed Griffith a letter for Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with an ultimatum. “We anticipate within seven days that we will be called to discuss issues that currently affect the officers. Some of which are non-cash items...

“If we do not receive a response just as in the case of police officers, they may get agitated,” Hill said.

With respect to money Hill said Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis has tabled a five per cent wage increase as her best offer. Hill said other organisations have benefited from between 12 and 17 per cent increase in salary and therefore he finds the CPO's five per cent "unrealistic and unreasonable.”