THE Island Special Constabulary Force Officers’ Association has signed off on a new fringe benefits agreement for the 2004/2006 Heads of Agreement contract period with the government.

The agreement was finalised at the Heroes Circle offices of the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Under the agreement, the officers will receive most of the provisions that were agreed to by other security groups, the ministry said in a statement Thursday.

These provisions include a one-off payment of $50,000, which is to be paid to the association members in February of next year.

Improvements on their death benefits and funeral grants have also been provided for under the agreement, which was hammered out between the parties.

The government negotiators were headed by the minister of state in the finance ministry, Fitz Jackson, and included the ministry’s acting director of the industrial relations unit, Winston Scott.

The Island Special Constabulary’s negotiating team was led by chairman, deputy commandant Neville George, and included the assistant commandant Douglas Fletcher.

The statement said that George was happy with the outcome of the negotiations.

Earlier this year, the special constables took the government to court to challenge the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the administration and trade unions, which has been credited with saving thousands of public sector jobs and helping to control of the government’s fiscal deficit.

The constables were insisting that the two year wage freeze, due to the MOU, did not apply to them since they had never signed on to it.

The matter was, however, recently thrown out of court on grounds that they had no case.