After a 15-year legal battle, municipal police officers scored a major victory yesterday after the Privy Council ordered the State to pay them equally as regular police officers.The 15-year backpay and compensation for violating their constitutional rights could run into millions of dollars, said their attorney Ramesh Maharaj, SC, at a press conference at his San Fernando office.He suggested that the State seek an out-of-court settlement, instead of returning to court to compute the compensation.
In the ruling, in favour of the 153 officers, the Privy Council criticised the Government for failing to obey the Court of Appeal's order to make regulations to treat municipal police officers equally, saying it amounted to a denial of the rule of law and brought the system of justice itself into disrepute.After the hearing in the Privy Council, Maharaj said the Attorney General had drafted regulations and sent it to the Privy Council but the Law Lords found them to be deficient.
Saying that the judgment raises an important issue, Maharaj said:"The judgment must now cause the government and the Police Service to consider whether all police officers within the employ of the State ought to be regulated and ought to be treated equally."We cannot have police officers experiencing ad hoc promotions, unfairness, inequality of treatment and arbitrariness. There is urgent action to have an overhaul of policing in T&T and to consider how best to have this service regulated."
The municipal police's court action was triggered in 2000 when government i stopped paying them the basic salary and 60 per cent of allowances which were being paid to regular police officers.Commenting on the ruling, Inspector Octave Lewis of the Municipal Police Unit says they have finally received justice.
"This matter brought on a high degree of happiness among my colleagues. However, it must be noted that we have not seen this as a victory against the State or employer but rather a victory for the injustice we have suffered over the years," he added.Lewis said it was never their intention to enter into a legal battle with their employer but had no choice after they exhausted all other steps to rectify the situation.
AG welcomes ruling
Attorney Anand Ramlogan welcomed the Privy Council ruling, saying the aggrieved municipal police officers can get justice in accordance with law.In a press statement, Ramlogan said: "The Privy Council has provided much needed guidance on a matter which no Government has been able to resolve since 1990 when the Municipal Corporations Act came into force. No regulations have been made for over 25 years now to govern municipal police services.
"There was an apparent conflict in the joint jurisdiction between the Chief Personnel Officer under the Municipal Corporations Act and the Statutory Authorities Service Commission that needed to be clarified and I therefore welcome this judgment so that justice can be done to the aggrieved officers according to law."