THE Jamaica Police Federation is adamant that government presents an improved wage offer to rank-and-file cops by noon today, or face the consequence of the delegates’ decision when they meet later in the day.

The federation, which represents policemen and women from the ranks of constable to inspector, said yesterday that it was determined to push for better pay, despite criticisms from government’s chief wage negotiator Fitz Jackson, that the demands from the cops were impractical.

Jackson, the junior finance and planning minister, told the Sunday Observer yesterday that negotiating tactics of the federation were “impractical, immature and an insult to people’s intelligence”.

But, the police vowed yesterday that they would not be backing down from their demands.

“Essentially it is in the hands of government to do what is right and to let good sense prevail,” said Corporal Hartley Stewart, general secretary of the federation.

“If they do not, then the delegates of the federation will take whatever action deemed necessary to bring closure to the negotiation and to bring benefit to the rank-and-file officers,” Stewart told the Observer yesterday.

He, however, declined to say what action was likely to be taken by the cops if an improved wage offer was not presented. Stewart said he would not pre-empt the delegates’ decision.

The police had gone on sick-out earlier this year after the breakdown in their wage negotiations with the government.

In the meantime, Stewart said the federation had received several calls from police officers who said they were incensed by Jackson’s statement.

“They have felt affronted by the minister’s statement, but I feel no personal affront because I know the work that the federation’s central executive has put in and I know the quality of the discussions that we have put before the government’s negotiation team,” said Stewart.

He said that although members were quite upset, the federation was trying to keep things in check and get everyone to be focussed on the negotiations, based on the 41-point claim presented.

In yesterday Sunday’s Observer article, Jackson said he was finished sitting at the (negotiating) table with the police as his final offer was already made.

He also accused the police negotiators of trying ‘backdoor tactics’ to force the government to pay them more.

But Stewart said the junior minister’s statements were not worthy of a response, as his concern was only about getting an improved offer for rank-and-file members.

Said Stewart: “We are focused on getting an improved offer from government. We are not at this point concerned about personalities or how different persons in the process view us,” he said.

The police originally presented a 41-point wage claim, but later selected four of their 41 points, indicating that since they were of paramount importance, resolution of those would determine the basis on which they respond to the others.

The four-point demand included a 20 per cent increase in housing allowance; a 50 per cent increase in service pay; a 75 per cent increase in salary and a new police security allowance, originally called ‘hazard pay’ or risk allowance.

The ‘hazard pay’ was rejected outright by the government, which said danger was a part of the police’s job.

Stewart said, however, that a hazard pay or risk allowance was not an unrealistic claim and could not be compared to the risk in other professions.

“You tell me which profession has 14-15 persons killed as a direct result of being employed in that profession per year, anywhere in the world much less Jamaica,” he argued.

“We have had since 1976, 15 officers killed on average each year and these are deaths directly related to the fact that the members are police officers,” he added.

He said that during the last negotiations, the government acknowledged that fact, and was the reason why the then prime minister suggested the one-off payment of $50,000 to rank-and-file police officers to compensate and to help fund the additional security cost that they face.

“It is the same principle we had carried forward in this negotiation, and we made a claim way back in January for a risk hazard allowance for police officers, to recognise the elevated level of risk they face just from being a police officer in Jamaica,” Stewart said.

With regards to the claim for a 75 per cent increase in salary, Stewart said that was also justifiable.

“The realities and the context of the situation might indicate that it is unrealistic to accept 75 per cent over two years, but that is borne out through the process of negotiations. So for the minister to be claiming unrealism in these types of claims in the public media makes absolutely no sense,” charged Stewart.

“If the minister wants the federation to justify each of the 41-point of claim in the media then we can provide that to the media in the morning (today),” he added.