Industrial action that has been taken by correctional officers at Horizon Adult Remand Centre in Kingston has disrupted the start of the court hearing into the case involving alleged members of the Tesha Miller faction of the St Catherine-based Clansman gang.
Several of the accused who are being held on remand at the correctional facility were not taken to court on Wednesday, due to the strike action.
The correctional officers are reportedly restive over the completion of their compensation review.
Chairman of the Jamaica Federation of Corrections (JAFEDCO), Arlington Turner, said the industrial action by the correctional officers is currently restricted to the Horizon Remand Centre.
He said while the officers are at work, they are not carrying out regular duties at this time.
Relatives of persons in custody at Horizon are also being affected, as they have not been allowed on the compound to deliver meals and other items to inmates there, and have been venting their frustration with the situation, as shown in the video below.
Turner said a decision by the Finance and the Public Service Ministry to cancel a meeting with correctional officers to discuss the compensation review has further upset the officers.
He said the meeting was set for Wednesday, April 10, but a day before that date, word came that the meeting was cancelled without a new date being set.
“Our officers were looking forward to this meeting to ensure that they know where they are going in relation to the compensation review issue, which affects every correctional officer…,” Turner told reporters.
“The meeting was postponed without a date (being set). Now, the officers are concerned.
“So, this morning I learnt that the Horizon Remand Centre officers would… stand up, demanding answers from the relevant ministry,” he added.
It is not clear how long the industrial action will last, but Turner said the correctional officers are “well within their right” to take such actions, because issues relative to the compensation review exercise have dragged on for that group for the past two years.
Meanwhile, only eight of the 23 alleged members of the ‘Tesha’ faction of the Clansman gang appeared in the Home Circuit in downtown Kingston up to 12pm on Wednesday.
Miller is among those charged and indicted under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act (Anti-Gang Legislation). They are all in custody.
Due to the delay with the remaining men being taken to court, bench warrants have been reportedly issued for them.
Prosecutors said the 23 men are alleged to be a part of a criminal organisation – the Clansman Gang, ‘Tesha faction’, allegedly led by Miller – and reportedly participated in several criminal activities between August 5, 2017 and August 22, 2022 in St Catherine.
The charges against them include murder, conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition.
Miller is the only person among the accused men who is charged with leadership of a criminal organisation.
He is presently serving nearly 39 years at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston following a conviction for accessory before and after the fact in connection with the 2008 murder of then Chairman of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), Douglas Chambers.
The alleged gang leader is awaiting an appeal against that conviction and the sentence.
