The Supreme Court Friday ruled that the Jamaica government pay the rank-and-file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) the amounts owed for overtime from April 2008 to the present based on negotiations with the state.
The Police Federation had filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Security, the Attorney General, and the Police Commissioner arguing that its members had been working more than 40 hours per week without being paid.
The full court panel, comprising Justice David Batts, Justice Cresencia Brown Beckford, and Justice Tara Carr, ruled that each of the heads of agreement between the Federation and the ministries are binding on the government and created a “legitimate expectation” on the part of the Federation members.
It further ordered that the Ministry of Finance put in place a system in accordance with the heads of agreement that will capture the actual hours worked by JCF members in excess of 40 hours per week and that they be remunerated accordingly.
In the claim, the Police Federation sued the state because of “frustrations caused by the state’s failure to keep promises made”.
According to the Court, unchallenged evidence revealed that the existing manual recording system for police forces remained unreliable due to “integrity issues”. The claimants further contended that a new system has not yet been established and further argued that they are contractually entitled to have the system established.
The Court did not grant damages to the Police Federation since it said members had continued to be paid for 10 hours of overtime since April 2008.
In delivering the ruling, Justice Batts said “it is ordered that the defendants on or before the 31st of March 2023 put in place a system, which is in accordance with the terms agreed in the Heads of Agreement…and which will capture the actual hours worked by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in excess of 40 hours per week and the said members be thereafter remunerated accordingly “.
The judge said, “costs will go to the claimants against the defendants to be taxed…”
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