Chairman of the Police Welfare Association (PWA) Jefferson Drigo has said the association is “disappointed and dissatisfied” at a wage freeze offer made by the government for the 2015/2018 triennium and has rejected it.
On March 6, 2017 the PWA met with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), Gloria Joseph, who is heading the government’s negotiating team, and asked for a 15 percent wage increase and is adamant it is justified.
However, the government offered a wage freeze and the executive of the PWA will meet its membership on March 10, 2017 to chart the way forward.
“We were disappointed and dissatisfied at the government’s proposal which is a wage freeze for the triennium…we were not expecting that,” Drigo stated.
According to Drigo, the PWA took all factors into consideration including the state of the economy, Government Fiscal Performance, the real Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the relative income values in the state and in neighboring countries of the OECS before arriving at its 15 percent over the three-year period.
“We were very surprised at the proposal put forward by the government…we have rejected that and we will be taking the matter back to our membership at a meeting on Friday March 10, 2017,” he said.
Police officers, Drigo said, are “very committed, dedicated and hard working” in their jobs and by law a police officer “cannot neglect his duty and shy away from any incidents that need his intervention based on which department he works, therefore, the risk is the same and all officers should be entitled to high-risk allowance”.
“The demands which this changing environment puts on the Dominica Police Force are substantial. The escalation of violence in schools, drug use and misuse, firearms and human trafficking, and number of serious crimes are some of the issues of growing public concern to which the police and other sectors of society must respond,” he remarked.
The PWA Chairman believes that the police deserve the 15 percent they are asked for.
“We are expecting better from the government, we will be meeting them again on March 21, 2017 and we will be expecting that the wage freeze that they are offering will be changed by then and they will be offering us something similar to what we are requesting…we remain at 15 percent that is our proposal and for now we are not moving and will remain,” he said.
Go and arrest more innocent people. Serve u all right. Demand respect and respect will be given, u all are being used…
Don’t give them no increase Skerro,they too lazy,keep them on your leash
Country running good
That is total disrespect for the Police Force in any country. With the cost of living going up you expect the officers to take a wage freeze for 3 years? You are not even being considerate of those who are protecting you and your family year round.
Police officers, nurses and teachers do not realize how powerful they are in their negotiations and always give in to nancy stories of how things are bad. Stand your ground and demand your pay! You have the support of the public. Look at how your government ministers are living large and amassing fortunes.
I am waiting to see how this one pans out!
i agree with skerrit, allu not investigating him so allu not doing allu work… if someone is not doing allu work allu don’t deserve increase.
Hold your ground officers and don’t move one iota! Skerrit and his gang (not cabinet) are sucking the blood of Ma Dominique dry but refuse to pay the very people who keep the country rolling. DNA police perform the duties of policemen, coastguard men, spy agency (CIA), immigration, military police, and army commandos but when it comes to pay we give them pittance.
Granted there are a few within the ranks that should be paid as laborers and boom-boom-flies but by and large the officers are dedicated and had working. I for one wish the chief and his deputy along with a few garbadine wearing nincompoops would be fired but the rest deserve their pay. Tell Skerro he MUST PAY or go on a” less than 50% rolling sick out” until he goes. See you guys at the DPSU ball soon
Hold your own Jeff and don’t let down your men. Already they refuse to promote you because you not kissing rear ends.
Always assertive!
I don’t want to hear any body in Dominica complain, because on Election Day they’ll vote them back in. Take what all you get
( Drigo said the PWA was disappointed at the government’s )
let us ask our self what are negotiation?
Job descriptions often list negotiation skills as a desirable asset for job candidates, but the ability to negotiate requires a collection of interpersonal and communication skills used together to bring a desired result. The circumstances of negotiation occur when two parties or groups of individuals disagree on the solution for a problem or the goal for a project or contract. A successful negotiation requires the two parties to come together and hammer out an agreement that is acceptable to both.
Tell the police men the truth and on the 21th you can come out with a deal that good for both side, do your home work and come again.
It is time police officers demand respect. Let the individual police officers report sick whenever they think it necessary and tactically important.
meanwhile do not embark on any organised mass protest.
we need more no shows , for them to understand the worth of the officer.
D, Country Nice Boy! when the Rain falls it falls on all Police officer`s head. Thats nothing New, its called Negotiations, and may the weakest fall in the End. The chain is as strong as its weakest link, and our present Day Chain has many weak link, therefor Dead on arrival. But those who do not stand for something, will fall for any thing. we go see! Better Days are coming in the year 2018/ 2019. The eyes will have it.
Hmmmmmm. We love D. N. O. Keep up the great job. ## One love.
Good for you police men! i wish the bodies that govern nurses would do the same. the nurses are more than in need of a salary increase and insurance. they work TOO HARD FOR LESS THAN NOTHING. My aunt was sick and i went for the nurse in my village at 2:45 am only to find her already in the health centre with another person. theses nurses work 24/7 and FOR WHAT!!!! petty change. They cant pay their bills, they cant have a life. their families fall apart, and some of us ungrateful Dominicans, still want to kick at them. I saw one nurse being verbally insulted on all her generations at casualty , and the young nurse just watch the man and said, “sorry you had to wait so long, we have a few emergencies inside,doc will see you as soon as he can’ and still with a smile on her face!! awa wi. thoses nurses cant take more abuse, NO RAISE! NO GOVERNMENT INSURANCE! NO INCENTIVE!!!! NO WONDER THEY ALL LEAVING!!!!!!!! FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT NURSES..LIKE THE POLICE OFFICERS!
Dear Mr. Drigo,
I am sorry to say that but Skerrit should stick to his 00, 00, 00% for the next 3 years for both the Police service and the Civil Service as well, cause it’s U all that have Skerrit doing that sort of thing in the country, in 1979 I got my 129% and that was very good, we came out and we demand it and we got it, so stop boom, boom flying SKERRIT and go out for U all’s own, stop arresting innocent people for SKERRIT when u all know very well what is happening in D/ca
I hear that Dominica CBI funds have been tagged by the UN, World Bank and DOD as a source of terrorist financing and are currently being frozen in transit via New York and UK banks pending satisfactory DD on the source of the funds.
Skerrit won’t have to be pushed out, he will soon have to go when his government faces bankruptcy from the cessation of CBI funds.
Dominica, you are in for a rough, rough ride!
Serve allu right. Why don’t you all go burst some more shots and tear gas in Salisbury. Who is crying now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No more arrest. No increase in salary.
I am of the view sensible dialogue and realistic negotiations will produce an agreement totaling 7.5% and no more over the three year period.
i must sat most of the police officers have no heart, no pity. but people should b paid well to hold a position. in most countries people want to work for govt because it is best paying and loads of benefits. here it not paying, no insurance plan no pension for teachers, just too much crap for all the standards they impose on us
How you expect these men and women to serve and protect when you have people like GJ doing this dirty work.
Do you think GJ would have accepted that when she worked for CW PLC
These are men and women in society and you all pushing them to petty crimes. They have family to support
Mrs GJ think of the Bible you carry everyday and the words in it
The police is an integral part of the society. Without the police our communities will descend into chaos and anarchy. In these times of heightened criminal activities, the police is called upon to do more and more. If the government is not in good financial shape to offer the 15% increase to the lawmen, then a compromise should be worked out. For the government to offer a three-year salary freeze is unconscionable. If you want the best from an employee, the working conditions should be palatable. Also, the police at all times should be professional and not become acolytes and lackeys of the ruling party. Perception is reality, and the Police Force, by its interaction with the public, must disabuse the citizens and residents of the notion that politicians are directing the operations of Law Enforcement. May common sense and good conscience prevail.
Good time for us to have a joint peaceful protest like the one of Feb. 7. I can’t understand why that long vacation man. I am ready are you?
Mr Drigo you all are the foot soldiers of the Government and as law men the state is under your security.In 1990,we the police department taught Ma Charles a serious lesson by not showing up for the Parade,over salary negotiations as well.Gentlemen and women teach Skeritt the same lesson.
It’s reasons like this which gets under people skin. 100 increase to run carnival but yet people can’t be paid. 5% per year for 3 years. Quite fair.
All those head lines with projects starting all over the island was a hoax
Officer Drigo , you and the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force ( with the except for Carbon, Valerie, Cuffy, Mills. C , and a few other whose names are too numerous to mention ) have the full backing of all the Dominican people.
Just let us know when you all are going on strike and we will take over in the charge offices to take the reports.
This is unacceptable what Skerrit and his regime is doing to the working class.
We have to go back to history to see how things worked in the pass. From time immoral, the Government got it\’s revenue from taxing the working class to pay for goods and services. What we have seen under the Skerrit regime is the destruction of the working class and hence there is no revenue to collect that will allow the Govt to pay its workers. This is all a strategy on Skerrit\’s part.
The Police is doing its share of revenue earning and as such this should be part of the negotiating power on the table.
I recall in the 1980s and 1990s we were the highest paid civil servants in the OECS, but today under Skerrit, it is the opposite. So to Dominicans , the ball is in your court , you can move it up or down. The Police have to think, will Skerrit always be in power? He is already rich , are you?
The should ask the president information as to.how to strike. He had a good formula when i was 12 years
I love my pm
Ha!Ha!
I love him too..
SKERRIT MUST GO!!!
SKERRIT MUST GO!!!
SKERRIT MUST GO!!!
you forget to add WE FED UP
SKERRIT MUST GO WE FED UP!
I\’m sure you love living on his handouts too. You sound like one of those spineless creatures who get bought with a few pennies to allow them to continue rolling in mud to have a fete. You fail to realise the rest of the world is progressing yet you are moving backwards.
You can only wake up when the freeness stops – take pride in yourself and stop living life as a beggar.
I love mt pm
Please one set of police officers working another set taking sick leave without they sick what wages increase they looking for one there pay is to high they are the highest paid in the caribbean dont give them more they to lazy some
do your research well. i command u to. all jobs in dominica are the lowest paod in the caribbean next to haiti. wayyyyyyy (bellevue accent)
You crazy or plain and simple stupid
I agree. And you don’t need them until your house gets burglarized, your mother, sister or daughter gets rape or your son gets sodomized or a member of your family is a victim of abuse. Damn sottish. It is people like you who cannot differentiate between justice, fairness and downright disrespect for those who serve,
Allu doh see Skerrit ready to leave office, but he don’t want to leave peacefully ..He want to make it look like a collusion and ousting. A coup (Skerrit said it, not me), so that he can claim amnesty and political asylum somewhere..Go figure!!..
Why else would he bluntly deny a moderate increase for his foot soldiers? Skerrit playing chess while Dominicans playing draughts..
You think Skerrit stupid. Elections is in 2019. He gonna give allu the increase during election time and use that for allu to vote him.
It works on them, Peculiar. I agree with the PM. If its working on them, why change it?!
he did it last elections and it works, he might just do it again This time i am hoping they would not fall for it
“According to Drigo, the PWA took all factors into consideration including the state of the economy, Government Fiscal Performance, the real Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the relative income values in the state and in neighboring countries of the OECS before arriving at its 15 percent over the three-year period.” Mr. Drigo and his fellow officers seemingly have abandoned their partisan held rhetoric of a bad and struggling economy. How can an economy that is in serious danger of collapsing any moment afford such a salary increase. This is important in the context of the huge support base the opposition UWP enjoys among the rank and file of the police. That support has to be in sink with the position of the UWP that the Dominican economy is in shambles. let it be known too, that whatever increase the government allows for police officers will also apply to every other civil servant.
He do right. Doh give no increase or give -0,-0; -0
All de money is for him.
All you will get increase when he really,really overflowing and cannot find a bank to hold his mony.
hahaha. i waiting for the police to strike. See what the country will do now.
not care and move along?
oh we will move along, but in what direction?
Drigo, you and loyal officers are so right and we the public will stand and support you on your plea. This inept Skerrit and his corrupt Labour government are rude and out of place. These guys, especially Skerrit travel the world all over, benefit from these travels and Dominica gains nothing, the police gains nothing and seems these guys appear to be gaining something that we need to know.
Be professional, stay focus, stay united an do your duty as your profession dictates. Do not go down to the level of Skerrit and his corrupt gang.
Good luck and thanks for your service.
Let the negotiations begin. The gap is only 15% apart!They will find agreement around 5% total!
All I will say is Dominica is a country loaded with movie stars and actors and actresses. I will say no more because DNO on sabbatical and not moderating.
guys my police friends in Antigua laughing at you all saying the way some of you police working hard in Dominica and that kind of pay is a big JOKE AS MUCH AS I KNOW FOR MY SELF YOU ALL FULL month pay is what the pay in Antigua when you on training as a police that much I know but as we always know in d/a any time you talk people say you don’t like the young PM am asking who in Dominica that the so called PM like ? I say so because as I spake anyone that say they love him let them say one thing about him and you will see what happen to you your name and your family I .but again only time will tell
Thats what they do in communist countries. spies and agents and operatives with bad mind. that is how the gestapo in germany used to work.
Stand firm Police Officers !!! They can take the CBI money and now they want to put a wage freeze on you guys….dont accept this at all !!!!!
If the PM has enough money to provide a red clinic delivery service, why cant he offer the police force a wage increase?
ppl that in need not even benefiting from d red clinic all like me. all d cbi money doing in dem red politician pocket who dat have how much house an fancy cars big business while poor brainwash dominicans suffering election coming maybe they will help us……
ppl saying polise dis an dat without them wat d country would b like, dey dr bursting dr asses for wat d same pay as d labourer, and d secretary dats y dey does turn rogue……… increase by 20%….. let d red politician sell dr manison an bmw to pay them man eh….
what ! majority of police men do not do his or her duty. they are very lazy. they don’t even want to walk. the streets. when a report is made they pay no mind. All they say there is no vehicle. and they never show up. police officer do not protect us as citizen. Where are the faithful ones that do want is right? Where are those who will patrol your community day and night ,gone are those days.
Without the current inept leadership and circus clown heading the force right now, I would be prepared to support your statement.
I do think them to be a lazy force who do not patrol or attend incidents promptly. However, with that joke-in-uniform Carbon at the helm I find it hard to do so. If ever there was a case of hand-in-glove puppetry then he must have a large hand up his backside operating him cos his delivery and handling of anything is cringeworthy. I even feel sorry for him sometimes.
If this man had any backbone or regard for the force he leads then he would do the right thing and resign or revolt.
I doubt he has the balls for either – he will take the shame as long as he is being paid
Good for you… Stand firm… A wage freeze is damn ridiculous… How do they expect the police to maintain law and order to the max when they’re not treated fairly in return… What happened a fair work for fair pay? Teachers and nurses should demand the same too. Thsese are hard working civil servants for the most… Treat them with respect. Pay them a descent wage
maybe the police should go and strike???
Well everything is CBI funded these days. So CBI will fund that, no worries
Well, your officers are busy carrying out Skerrit’s orders arresting opposition politicians. How far did that get you?