~~Adz:Left~~On September 29th, the Chief Secretary, Mr. Joseph Edmeade in response to a letter dated September 25th from the Police Welfare Association (PWA), wrote to the Assistant Secretary/Treasurer of the PWA, informing that the Prime Minister, Hon. Denzil L. Douglas, would be pleased to meet with the Executive of the Association at a convenient time to discuss matters of concern.

On October 19th, the Chief Secretary informed the Police Welfare Association that the Hon. Prime Minister would meet the Association on Tuesday 24th October.

In a letter dated October 20th October and received on the 23rd October, the Assistant Secretary, Special Constable Mr. Kelvin Belle, responded, requesting the presence of its Legal Advisor, Mr. Tapley Seaton to be present with the 10-member delegation of the negotiation committee.

~~Adz:Right~~The letter was delivered by hand.

This morning, Tuesday October 24th, the Chief Secretary, on seeing the delegation, informed the President, Woman Sargeant Carla Wallace, that the Prime Minister was meeting only with the Executive Members of the Police Welfare Association as outlined in the correspondence of October 23rd 2006

i.e.: the Chairperson, the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.

Woman Sargeant Wallace demanded that an appropriate place should be found to accommodate all who were present.

The Chief Secretary reiterated that the meeting was only with officers of the PWA Executive and was not one for negotiations.

~~Adz:Left~~Woman Sargeant Wallace then said that they were not prepared for that and she lead away from the Waiting Room of the Office of the Prime Minister the delegation of the PWA including Mr. Tapley Seaton.

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis reaffirms its commitment to continue dialoguing with the Executive Officers of the Police Welfare Association in attempting to address their concerns.

Office of the Prime Minister

October 24th 2006