The Garda Representative Association has accused Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly of disregarding the working rights of rank-and-file members, according to RTÉ.ie. The criticism came as the association prepares to stage five days of work-to-rule action next month, timed to coincide with a major gathering of EU leaders in Dublin.
The industrial action is set to begin on Tuesday 10 November and run until Saturday 14 November. It covers the European Political Convention on 12 November and the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government on 13 November.
Why it matters
The dispute places a work-to-rule campaign directly alongside one of the largest security operations the State has mounted in decades. The GRA says members will still report for duty and act within their entitlements, so the public should notice little difference day to day. Even so, the timing puts pressure on garda management at a moment when resources and planning are under close scrutiny.
The row also reaches beyond overtime payments. According to the GRA, the conflict concerns start times, compensatory rest and cancelled days off, which the association says are protected under the Working Time Agreement.
Association claims agreement has been set aside
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, GRA president Niall Hodgins described the period as a low point in relations within An Garda Síochána. He said the Commissioner's office and garda leadership were among the signatories to the Working Time Agreement two years ago, a set of rules he said exists to ensure fairness for both sides.
Hodgins said Commissioner Kelly and his predecessor have treated those rules as inapplicable when it comes to shift patterns and conditions affecting members. He said the agreement has been set aside not only for the EU Presidency but also for occasions the Commissioner has designated as extraordinary events, citing St Patrick's Day and Halloween, along with weekends in summer that may feature several concerts. Members are expected to work those events on top of the EU Presidency duties, he said.
The GRA president said the Commissioner has overridden entitlements owed to gardaí under the agreement. He rejected the idea that enforced overtime is the only grievance, pointing to what he described as repeated breaches affecting starting times, compensatory rest and the cancellation of rest days. In one instance, he said, two members who are both gardaí and parents had their days off cancelled at the same time.
Hodgins called on the Commissioner to stop what he characterised as riding roughshod over members' rights.
What the work-to-rule involves
Under the motion backing the action, all members stationed in the Dublin Metropolitan Region are to report for duty at their home station at the start of their tours and wait there to be brought to their points of duty. The same applies to members within 100km of their points of duty in the DMR and Shannon regions.
Commissioner Kelly said in a statement on Thursday that overtime would be cut back soon in response to complaints from the GRA. He said the reduction would take effect once a number of forthcoming major events have concluded, according to RTÉ.ie.
Sergeants and inspectors weigh their options
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said its National Executive met on Friday to consider continuing concerns about the Working Time Directive and arrangements for the approaching EU Presidency meetings. In a statement, AGSI said it has sought clarification from senior garda management on how the directive applies to these extraordinary events, and that formal written queries submitted over the previous three weeks had gone unanswered.
The association said it was unacceptable that concerns raised through established channels remained without a response, given the scale of the upcoming meetings and the demands being placed on its members.
AGSI General Secretary Ronan Clogher said nothing has been ruled out when asked whether the association would consider action alongside the GRA. He said the National Executive will meet early next week and decide whether to act, with the outcome depending on whether garda management engages on the issues raised.
Clogher said he shared Hodgins's view that gardaí's rights are being infringed, and he urged management to settle the matters with rank-and-file members, noting that state security is at stake ahead of the EU Presidency operations. He said the Commissioner and senior management are breaching the Working Time Agreement as it applies to AGSI members, and that the matter should already have been resolved.
He also criticised the Commissioner's remarks on Thursday responding to the GRA's announcement, calling them inflammatory and unhelpful. With ten days to go before what he described as the biggest security event in the State in three or four decades, Clogher said real leadership was needed and that management was not engaging with the problem.
The National Executive of AGSI is expected to decide early next week whether to join the action, while the GRA's work-to-rule is due to start on 10 November.
