The Chief Personnel Officer, Commander Dr. Daryl Dindial, on invitation from the President of the 2nd Division Association visited the Port of Spain Prison, the Maximum Security Prison- Wayne Jackson Building, the Golden Grove Prison, the Extended Remand Facility, and the Women’s Prison on April 6, 2022. During the visit, Dr. Dindial was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Prisons, Hayden Forde, and the Presidents of the 1st and 2nd Division Associations of the Prison Service, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, Felix Alexis, and Prison Supervisor Ceron Richards along with other senior Prison officials.
The premise of the visit was based on the commencement of negotiations and the impending Job Evaluation Exercise for the Prison Service, in addition, to providing the Chief Personnel Officer the opportunity to witness first-hand the working conditions and the general environment Prison Officers perform their duties, on behalf of the State. Dr. Dindial met and engaged with several Prison Officers in all the facilities not limited to; operations, programmes, facilities management, emergency response, accounting, agriculture and livestock. Moreover, he was provided with several examples of scenarios Prison Officers are confronted with on a daily basis.
The Prison Service representatives recommended an observatory field assessment experience for the selected provider of the Job Evaluation Exercise with the Personnel Department’s staff. This is to enable a better understanding of what the Prisons Service Associations described as an extremely unique working environment that requires Prisons Officers to constantly be alert and prepared to respond to any circumstance that may occur. Dr. Dindial describes the various visits and interactions as “invaluable to the upcoming engagements and takes the opportunity to salute the dedicated men and women of our Prisons Service for their steadfast and unwavering commitment to the safety, security and development of our nation”.