Northern Ireland's police force agreed Wednesday to pay $1.6 million in compensation to 310 policewomen who alleged sex discrimination by Chief Constable Sir John Hermon. The Northern Ireland Police Federation said Hermon refused to renew the officers' contracts on the grounds they could not carry out full policing duties. But Hermon would not allow them to bear firearms or be trained in their use, it said. The police officers' association said the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the British province's regular police force, agreed to pay the compensation in an out-of-court settlement. The women, former and current part-time and full-time members of the RUC Reserve Force, took their case to an industrial tribunal in Belfast in 1982. Their claim followed the introduction of a policy to phase out full-time women reservists in 1980 and then, two years later, to restrict duties of part-time members of the force. The Police Federation said it was delighted with the award. ``Our support for our women colleagues has been vindicated,'' said a spokesman, who declined to be identified in keeping with British practice. One policewomen, who asked that her name not be used for security reasons, said: ``Naturally we are over the moon. This has been a six-year battle, and it has been a long fight, but at the end of the day it has been worth it.''
