Union demands civil service police protection in ‘hot spots’

The island’s largest public sector union is set to ask the Mia Mottley administration to introduce security protection arrangements for field officers, including placing police officers on standby in light of the surge in brazen criminal activities across the country.

Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Wayne Walrond revealed on Wednesday that an increasing number of public officers whose duties require them to work in “solitary and troubled” communities, don’t want to go to these areas in fear for their safety.

Walrond said the NUPW will be taking up this issue with the various government agencies and departments as a matter of grave concern.

“Given the spike in crime and brazen attacks, this raises the issue of work place safety…and not only what was highlighted in the healthcare institutions, we are also looking at brazen attacks in relation to those officers who work in the field such as environmental health officers; and you have people at Land Survey that do land surveying,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“There are other officers who are afraid to go out in the field as they participate in communities… officers like the Youth Commissioners. So, we are saying that the employer really now has to look at putting measures in place when they send employees out there to conduct their duties. For example, do we look at doubling up persons, working in pairs? But the brazen attacks are really raising the issue of crime out there.”

Walrond also identified home helpers who he said have to work in the “more solitary areas”.

He continued: “It’s about finding employers putting things in place to look at the safety of employees; as I said, doubling up the work, whether people can work [flexibly], and what kind of security safeguards are placed for employees who are out there in the field.”

The union leader disclosed that when his organisation meets with the government, they will also recommend alerting the police when field officers have to work in “hot spots”.

Walrond suggested: “Have them [the police] on alert or standby arrangement because persons are getting more and more disquiet and uncomfortable, especially if you have to work in solitary or troubled areas, it raises concern for the well-being of workers. Yes, it’s something we have to raise with the various government employers, especially those who have employees working in these various areas. Yes, it’s something we definitely will have to raise with the various agencies of government.”

Contending that the situation is becoming disturbing, the NUPW acting general secretary appealed to the perpetrators, particularly young men, to understand that crime is not the long-term solution to the ills faced by society.

“It’s about empowering yourself,” he suggested, “and the quick-fixes tend not to solve problems in a long-term way, when you really look at quick-fixing. We are really appealing to the young men, and all persons that the life of crime is not the outstanding response to your needs, your issues, your grievances. Even though they seem to be emboldened, and more and more is happening often, we really think we have to reach out to communities and our young men and have dialogue and an understanding of better long-term ways to approach challenges.”

Walrond acknowledged that the country may now be playing behind the “eight-ball”, pointing to changes in the value system which promotes individuality rather than caring for each other.

The union leader said it’s now about getting what one wants at any cost even if it means hurting someone else or trampling their human rights.

He said: “The value system has shifted to the point where people would not even hesitate to take a human life just to get something…to rob a person and then just take a human life; and then that is a one-time fix when you take a life or rob a person. Then the next day you still have to survive. So, when you turn to crime for quick-fixes, when you take life or you hurt innocent people, then, in the long-term, are you prepared then to destroy a whole society to justify this as the way to survive?”

He also suggested that people need to return to spirituality and God and the traditional value system and help each other as a collective.

“So, we need to get back to the value system where the community, despite the hard life and not having much…because you are a together society…and help us to counter the challenges of survival and putting food on the table and financing our needs,” he urged. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb