Dear Editor,
It is very heartrending for us, the members of the Special Constabulary, not to get what we have worked for and is due to us. All we are getting is promises from 2006 on. We worked some vicious overtime and it took one year for us to get our money and still there is one month – October – to be paid from that year.
They say we are not police but an auxiliary to the force, yet still we have to go through all the suffering with the police. When it is time to work we are police, but when it is time to be paid we are not police.
In December 2007 the President offered three per cent added to six per cent to make nine per cent. He also offered a Christmas package for all, but we did not get any. In January 2008 again the President offered five per cent but we still did not benefit and were told it will all be paid later.
Later is still to come. Now the time has come for the leave passage to be paid. Everyone else has received theirs except the Special Constabulary.
For the past four years they were giving us half a month’s leave passage and all we were hearing was that the other half will be paid later. Later never comes. We never give them half work; we have to work a full eight hours or twelve hours or sometimes sixteen hours without anything to eat.
No one cares; that is a lot of sacrifice and no money. We are the ones that have to work in the sun and rain day and night pulling, tugging gates, checking vehicles, guarding billions of dollars and still we are deprived of our benefits.
They keep telling us they don’t have money to pay us because they have to pay for losses to the corporations for which we provide security. We would like to know if every day or every month there are breakages at these places.
Can the officer in charge tell us something about the overtime; it is long overdue. Also our leave passage and the five per cent that the President approved. We are single parents and we are working very hard for the salary.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address
provided)
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to the Commissioner of Police (ag), Mr Henry Greene for any comments he may wish to make.
