Police action spark security concerns
Police officers in Jamaica on Wednesday intensified calls for the government to come up with an improved salary offer.

The officers moved into a a second day of sickout protest action Wednesday with threats of more action on Thursday. But they have angered the country's private sector including leading businesses and hoteliers.

The sickout has given rise to security concerns, and some of those affected have accused Jamaican police of being irresponsible.

"We are not in agreement with this kind of action which puts the community at risk", the president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mark Kerr-Jarrett, told a local newspaper.

"I never thought that they (the police) would resort to this kind of behaviour", he added.

Criminal activity concerns

And the President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Horace Peterkin, was worried that the protest would affect security in the entire country.

"It will also affect visitors in terms of harassment and as soon as the touts and criminals figure out what is happening they will be out in their numbers", he warned.

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Leader, Beverley Lopez, called for the wage dispute to be resolved as quickly as possible.

The Police Federation estimates that almost half of the island's police force called in sick on Tuesday as the law officers try to apply pressure on the government to meet their demands for increased wage and fringe benefits.

Protest labelled "blue flu"

Large sections of the country were left without security, as what locals are calling the "blue flu" took hold.

The federation said even more officers were calling in sick on the second day of the action.

The officers are insisting that their demand for a forty-seven percent increase in salary over two years is justified, and refuse to consider the three percent stipulated under the country's Public Sector Memorandum of Understanding, an MOU their representatives did not sign up to.

The opposition Jamaica Labour Party, expressing concerns about national security, called on Minister for National Security Peter Phillips to use his influence to put an end to the dispute.

Dr Phillips has been trying to sway officers away from industrial action, but his pleas appear to have been rebuffed by large numbers of those engaged in the sickout.

Courts affected

The police action has affected some court sittings, and resulted in a significant reduction in the number of police officers on the streets.

Some communities report having a full complement of officers, but others have been hit hard by the protest action.

Senior police officers have said the army is on stand-by and ready to assist if necessary.