Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox yesterday moved to explain delays in getting a group of retired prison officers their pay for temporary work at Westgate prison.

And Ms Cox lauded the men's effort in returning to the job, saying the country is "indebted'' to them.

In November, to relieve overcrowding, a number of retirees were rehired to take over responsibility for around 30 "civil'' prisoners who had been moved out of the general population into a separate building.

The move came after extensive meetings between the Prison Officer's Association and Government over conditions at the maximum security prison.

But Ms Cox's Shadow, Michael Dunkley this week revealed in an interview that the men -- who's exact number is not known -- had not yet been paid.

Yesterday, Ms Cox said: "Government is indebted to these retired officers who have served with distinction. They are deserving of the entire community's gratitude for their willingness to assist during a period of difficulty.'' Overtime -- which is expected to be just over $500,000 -- will drop "significantly'' Ms Cox explained, with the hiring of the old officers and when the planned Alternatives to Incarceration programme is up and running.

"These retired prison officers will receive their first pay cheques tomorrow and thereafter will be paid on a weekly basis,'' she said. "There are a number of factors that contributed to the fact that the retired prison officers had not been paid.'' Ms Cox listed the reasons as the time lag between the men's hiring and the completion of the necessary paperwork and the need to separate their temporary status from the fact they are pensioners and the need to protect that status.

Government also had to be sure the men's new employee numbers and position ID numbers related to their temporary employment and not their retirement pensions.

Ms Cox also said there were delays in receiving details in the number of hours the men had worked since early November.