President of the Barbados Police Association, Inspector Wendley Carter. Photo: FP

Barbados TODAY understands the increased emoluments will be backdated to March 2024, and marks another significant breakthrough for police officers in securing long-promised benefits that Prime Minister Mia Mottley pledged to grant, during her budget presentation last year.

President of the Barbados Police Association (BPA) Inspector Wendley Carter disclosed on Tuesday that only one of three benefits sought from the government, namely, allowances for detectives, was granted last November.

Now, some 300 officers with 20 years’ service and over have officially been promoted to senior constable, effective March 2024.

“The POLTA (public officers’ loan and travel allowance) is the only one that is outstanding now. The senior constables’ proposal was agreed and [the increased salary] was to be paid this month. You know, when it doesn’t get to accounts by a certain time, it wouldn’t be paid…. So, that is just for accounts to finalise and the people will get paid,” Inspector Carter told Barbados TODAY.

He acknowledged that some of the officers were disappointed they had not received the increased pay this month, but “accounts have to make sure they have the right numbers because it’s for people over 20 years…. So, once everything works out, they should start to get paid from next month; but it is effective from March 2024. So, most likely, they will get their back pay and everything.”

Carter also expects that by next year, more officers will qualify to join the ranks of the 300, and said he believes that other ranks may benefit from those promotions to senior constables.

“Although it is for the senior constables, it will benefit the sergeants that got promoted because they would go up to another level.”

He said the last remaining proposal to be settled–the POLTA–relates to the regrading of station sergeants, sergeants, and detectives so that they can be included in the schedule of the public officers’ loan and travel allowance (POLTA). Such inclusion will allow them to benefit from interest-free loans for their cars.

He added, “Our first recommendation is to get all police officers to get the POLTA, which we use as a retainer…because, we find that when the young police join the force, they want to buy a vehicle. So, if you buy a vehicle and you got eight years to pay for it, at least we have you for eight years. So, if you got an interest-free loan, we use it as a retainer to keep the numbers in the force.

“So, if you want to leave the force in that time, you would have to pay the interest on the vehicle. So, that is why we first made the recommendation to get everybody included.”

The BPA president also revealed that the association recently wrote Prime Minister Mottley to have the uniformed constables included in the POLTA.

In the meantime, the association head said, promised increments are still outstanding.

He explained that this money is to be added to the pay of officers who have spent a “certain number of years” in the service. “They haven’t received any update on the increments as yet, when it will be paid, and what’s going on with it,” Inspector Carter lamented.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Jefferson Clarke, who is responsible for human resources and administration, could not be reached for comment.

However, in a previous interview with Barbados TODAY, he stressed that increments and payment for academic qualifications were policy issues that the government would have to address. He said, “We don’t create policy, we just work within the policy framework.”