Prison officer is owed 9,463 hours' leave, court told
One of the correctional services officers fighting for $2 billion worth of time-off in lieu from the government yesterday told a court he was owed 9,463.15 hours.
Correctional Services Department records show Lau Kon-ching accumulated the time from August 14, 1978, until December 31, 2000, the Court of First Instance heard.
Mr Lau - a principle officer for Victoria Prison - is one of 11 plaintiffs named in the legal action. But those 11 plaintiffs represent 3,722 officers who claim the government has breached their employment contract.
The case centres on a requirement that some officers must remain on call at penal institutions for 101/2 hours after their shift ends.
The officers are asking for time-off in lieu for the shift, which is termed 'overnight on-call duty'. It has been estimated the total time-off in lieu would come to $2 billion for the six years since the proceedings were initiated.
The Court of First Instance has heard submissions from counsel representing the government that officers working at Victoria Prison could leave and go to Lan Kwai Fong as long as they could return within 15 minutes of being alerted.
But Mr Lau yesterday painted a different scenario.
He told the court principle officers were assigned a pager, while only the person in charge of the prison was given a mobile phone.
The rest of the guards had to be beside a phone at a fixed point in their quarters in case the prison wanted to alert them to a situation.
Lower-ranked officers were expected to return in 15 minutes and be in uniform, the court heard.
The hearing continues before Mr Justice Michael Hartmann.
