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And the media also asked Usher about the letter from the prosecutors at the office of the DPP. As we told you, they wrote to the attorney general and CC'd a few ministers that they felt they weren't being compensated properly. Meanwhile, the new Judicial Legal Assistant, with less than two years experience at the bar, will be making more than the crown counsels who have been employed for decades.
Today, the Minister of the Public Service said it's not so easy to raise their salaries.
Henry Charles Usher, Area Rep, Fort George
"There are currently three commissions that govern the different public officers, you have the public service commission, you have the security services commission and you have judicial and legal services commission. When it comes to legal officers, it's the judicial and legal services commission that deals with their terms and conditions, but of course they have to consult with the Ministry of Public Service and also the ministry of finance. For example the JLSC can't just decide we're going to pay all crown counsel's x amount in salary and then the budget is not there to pay them so I think there has to be proper consultation, we're looking at the legal officers salaries so that we can determine what is affordable as a country and also can determine, because you don't want to lose crown counsels, you don't want to lose judges, you don't want to lose magistrates because they can make more in the private sector but at the same time there are budgetary contracts that we have to look at. "
