The number of island constables has plummeted from 1 500 to a mere 70 over the last four to five years. And the drop has been blamed on poor wages – a meagre $64 a day, totalling $320 per week.
And it stands to get worse.
President of the Barbados Island Constables, Samuel Hackett said workers were fed up with the lack of respect and late payments to which they were subjected and this also contributed to the drastic drop in numbers.
Speaking to the media following a meeting for island constables at the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW)?headquarters, Dalkeith, St Michael, he recalled instances where some received their weekly pay through the credit union, some were forced to endure delays through the bank while others were still owed pay for work done during the St John by-election.
According to Hackett, overtime pay, the issue of lieu days for bank holidays and pay for uncertified sick leave were issues that also need to be addressed.
Read the full story in today’s MIDWEEK NATION.
