By Lynford Simpson, Staff ReporterDISGRUNTLED GOVERNMENT lawyers, saying they are tired of being overlooked for promotion despite long-standing vacancies, are expected within the next two months to present a policy position to the Government, outlining their grouses.
They are to recommend then that a system be put in place to ensure "fairness and transparency" in the selection process, a source at the Attorney-General's Department told The Gleaner at the weekend.
The decision to take their case to the Government was made by the nearly 50 attorneys-at-law who attended Saturday's meeting of the Legal Officers' Staff Association (LOSA) at the Norman Manley Law School, Mona.
The contentious issue of the non-appointment of its members, particularly senior attorneys, dominated the three-hour meeting. At the end, a decision was taken to further explore the matter at LOSA's upcoming annual general meeting scheduled to be held within the next 60 days. The position taken then should be ready for presentation to Government shortly thereafter.
The attorneys-at-law who are up in arms with the Government are from the Attorney-General's Department, Resident Magistrates' Courts and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Both the A-G's Department and the Office of the DPP have been hit by controversy recently over the non-appointment of senior legal officers.
In April, Lackston Robinson, Senior Assistant Attorney-General in the Attorney-General's Department, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against members of the Public Services Commission after he was reverted from the position of Deputy Solicitor-General, a position he had acted in for more than a year.
He accused the defendants of acting unlawfully and in breach of the Constitution. Mr. Robinson is contending that before he was reverted, a determination should have been made as to his suitability for the post. He has worked at the A-G's Department since 1989 when he qualified as an attorney-at-law at the Norman Manley Law.
In May, prosecutors at the Office of the DPP, became incensed after their colleague, Crown Counsel Jenes Neathly, a junior prosecutor, was abruptly reverted by Kent Pantry, Q.C., Director of Public Prosecutions. She reportedly received a letter from Mr. Pantry ordering her to return to her substantive post as Clerk of the Courts.
Her colleagues charged that the DPP had no authority to revert Ms Neathly as such matters, including promotions, are the domain of the Services Commission. They further charged that the current method of making appointments is arbitrary. "There needs to be an element of fairness in the selection process," one lawyer said.
However, the Services Commission usually acts on the recommendation of the head of department, in the case of the DPP, Mr. Pantry, and Solicitor General Michael Hylton, Q.C. the officer in charge at the Attorney-General's Department.
Frustrated by the lack of scope for promotion, at least 14 prosecutors have left the Office of the DPP over the last two years.
The lawyers decided on Saturday to accept Government's wage offer of 15 per cent over two years - seven per cent in year one and eight per cent in year two.
"We voted to accept the salary offer but we are not totally satisfied. There are still some outstanding issues relating to fringe benefits," a source close to LOSA told The Gleaner.
