They had the High Courts and the entire justice system under serious pressure all this week - and tonight the news is that the Crown Counsels in the DPP's office are expected to go back to work on Monday - all suddenly feeling better after a sickout.
This after progress was made in meetings today in Belmopan with the Attorney General and the Financial Secretary, following sickouts which caused court adjournments and files being sent back to police without processing.
7news was there when today's meeting finished and we asked the Fin Sec what was the outcome:
Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary
"Well, you know, in anything you have to think about equity, equality across the public service. I mean, this is one segment of the public service, but you have, you know, you have the general public service. You also have the security services, the three commissions. And what you do in one affects immediately. There's a ripple effect, you know, a knock-on effect to the others. So whatever we do, and also you have to watch the bottom line."
"You could have a situation where something is deserving and needed. But if you don't have the money, what would you do, you know. But we're trying our best to see how we can first listen, understand, appreciate the concerns of the judicial officers, you know. And to see how best we can respond, bearing in mind that whatever is agreed or not agreed, agreed I should say, has an effect for the rest of the public service. And of course, bottomline, how will we afford it."
"Well, you know, everything has a cost. So whatever we can agree on will have a cost. We have to see how we can accommodate those, you know. And at the end of it, I would say it's constructive, you know, and we believe that at the end of the day, there'll be an outcome that is satisfactory to all, if not most, if not all."
Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General
"As it relates to the crowns that had sent in sick notification, I took that to be genuine because, you know, if it were otherwise, I mean we wouldn't have reached this point."
"But we, as lawyers, we have this phrase that we say, when someone else says something which captures the sense of what you would say, and I think the Finsec captures what the essence of what I would have said."
"And I would simply just adopt and endorse what the Finsec has said as it relates to meetings that we had and as it relates to the outcome, a very positive outcome. And so I could, I can say as the Finsec confidently that, that we are assured that the matters that have been in the public domain are spared this week, you know, that those issues and concerns, you know, that may have been in public domain, that those have been addressed. And we will be able to move forward."
We were informed that The Crown Counsel's will be back to work on Monday, and according to the Fin Sec, the new agreements and adjustments should be settled by the end of October.
Unconfirmed reports to 7News say the government side agreed to a 17% raise.
