MORE THAN 70 prison warders, who have been on interdiction at quarter pay since January 2000, may soon see some closure to their predicament as the Department of Correctional Services, last week began sending out letters informing them of the decision to officially appoint a reviewer to examine their cases.
A statement last week from Major Richard Reese, Commis-sioner of Corrections, said that, "Mr. Clinton Davis, attorney-at-law, has been named the 'Reviewer' in keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of National Security and the trade unions."
Major Reese noted that the parties to the MoU have since agreed to the department's issuing of letters to all officers affected. All officers will have 14 days to respond to the letters. These responses will then be reviewed.
"The Ministry of National Security is now in the process of formalising the appointment of the reviewer in keeping with the provisions of the Commission of Enquiries Act," Reese said.
Lambert Brown, vice-president of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), however, has rapped the Correctional Services Department for what he terms the poor treatment of the warders over the years.
Mr. Brown, whose union is representing the warders, explained that the warders should have undergone a review process months ago since the selection of Mr. Davis.
"The time frame agreed to in the terms of reference has passed long ago. I am disappointed and dismayed at the Correctional Services. I suspect what is happening is that there is no case. Once you have the reviewer, the department should within two weeks send out letters to the warders who would then have a week to respond," said Mr. Lambert.
"All the men and one lady should have been sent back to work long ago. There is no reason for them to have them out there for this long," lamented Mr. Brown.
The 70 warders were among about 800 who had staged a sick-out to protest against the Government's decision to re-appoint then Commissioner of Corrections, Lt. Colonel John Prescod, as the head of the Correctional Department in 2000. They were all recommended for retirement in the public interest in 2002.
Of the 800 warders interdicted in 2000, 613 returned to work in May 2002 while others who had reached retirement age accepted the retirement package. The remaining 70, however, rejected an offer to retire in the public interest and decided to fight for their jobs.
