Prison union hits silence

During a news briefing last Wednesday at POA headquarters in Arouca, Richards and his executive called on the Services Commission to withdraw its proposal to replace seniority with certification (including Bachelors and Masters Degrees).

Alleging that the Commission was acting outside of its remit and without consulting the union, the POA urged President Anthony Carmona to rein in the commission. Richards said his call had so far elicited no response from those in authority.

“The POA has gotten no feedback. It’s like they don’t care. But we’ll press ahead and treat with this serious issue,” Richards said. He said the Commission’s proposal was not supported by the job description for prison officers.

He said that even if the proposal is valid, there is not enough time to implement them.

Richards alleged that while the Commission has pretended to consult, it is moving relentlessly ahead with the proposal. “The Commission is being very underhand in how it proposes to treat promotions.

We again call on the President to get involved and rein them in, because it was he who appointed them.”