Embittered correctional officers at Horizon Adult Remand Centre who on Thursday morning took industrial action over stalled salary negotiations, throwing operations at the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston into a tailspin, are now in holding mode following quick action by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and the national security ministry.

The stand-off affected the ongoing case management hearing for 23 alleged members of the Tesha Miller-led faction of the St Catherine-based Klansman gang, the trial of Omar Collymore for the murder of his wife Simone, and other major court matters.

Chairman of the Jamaica Federation of Correctional Officers Arlington Turner told the Jamaica Observer that the unrest resulted from a perceived slight by the parties involved in the negotiations.

“Last week there was a meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 10:00 am and the meeting was cancelled the day before and no other date was set, so the officers are disgruntled in all our institutions
— adult and juvenile,” Turner told the Observer.

“The correctional officers this morning demanded answers as it relates to the compensation review matters which have not been settled on behalf of the island’s correctional officers; therefore they would have been seeking answers,” he added.

According to the federation chair, who said an ultimatum has not yet been issued, the disgruntlement would have spread if not for the quick response from the parties.

“The fact is, if it is [that] a meeting was set and it was cancelled without any follow-up date, this would have caused serious anxiety. The good thing is, it has not stretched to the other institutions; I can guarantee you. It would have, but the fact that the management of DCS has got on to it and has been communicating with the ministry to treat with it, we can’t give an ultimatum just yet until we hear from the ministry,” Turner said.

He, in the meantime, said while Thursday’s industrial action had “everything to do with the compensation review”, there are other issues griping rank-and-file correctional officers.

“We have been in discussion for the past two years. This is the final year of the compensation review and we still have not signed a heads of agreement because what the Government has on the table is unacceptable; therefore, there are several issues that need to be fixed,” Turner said.

He noted that family members of inmates and visitors to the remand centre were among the disenfranchised on Thursday due to the industrial action, but said the promise of an early meeting date contributed to a return to normality at the facility.

“The visitors who it affected mostly
— because they would have brought things for their families and inmates
— they were not allowed inside because of the disruption. I was informed that the deputy commissioner communicated with the staff and normality was restored,” Turner said.

He, however, made an appeal to the just under 2,000 rank -and-file correctional officers. “We have been asking them for more than two years to have patience; it’s foolhardy of me to sit and say have more patience, but we have to allow good sense to prevail,” Turner said.

“The institutions’ security has never been compromised. We understand that we have a job to do, so we are saying to our officers, whatever we do, we have to do in law just to ensure that security at our institutions is not compromised, and we do what we do within the whole ambit of the labour law,” he said.

On Thursday, the impact of the industrial action prodded Supreme Court Judge Justice Vinette Graham-Allen to send a message to protesting correctional officers that “no one can hold the court at ransom”. She also ordered bench warrants for 14 of the 23 accused Klansman gangsters who were absent from the case management hearing. They are to turn up at court on July 11 without fail.

At press time Thursday the DCS, in a statement issued to the media, said it would “conduct investigations in accordance with the relevant regulations” into the actions taken by the officers. According to the DCS, “[T]he officers stayed from their duties, starting at approximately 7:30 am due to concerns pertaining to the ongoing salary negotiations.” It said this resulted in disruptions to visitor services and the transportation of inmates scheduled for court appearances.

According to the DCS, the officers resumed their duties at approximately 1:15 pm. In announcing its intention to investigate, the DCS said it “remains committed to fulfilling its mandate for the safety, security, rehabilitation, and reintegration of inmates”.