Discussions between Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and the four Garda staff associations are set to reconvene unexpectedly on Friday, raising hopes there could be a breakthrough in the protracted rosters dispute. Arrangements for the latest discussions were only put in place on Thursday evening, after Mr Harris held separate meetings with the four groups earlier that day and on Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the process said “progress” had been made in recent days. They added the reconvening of the group discussions on Friday at Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park was a positive sign. However, one of the sources said there was still “a long way to go” before the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents almost 11,000 rank and file gardaí, would cancel or defer six further planned days of industrial action after refusing voluntary overtime last Tuesday.
The rank and file gardaí are set to refuse to volunteer for overtime for the next four Tuesdays, including next week when violent protests are anticipated on budget day outside Dáil Éireann, and on Halloween, the last Tuesday of the month.
If no resolution to the rosters dispute is reached by the end of October, GRA members plan to ignore the reintroduction of pre-pandemic rosters on November 6th, and will continue to work the pandemic rosters. Finally, they will withdraw their service – a strike in all but name – on November 10th.
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[ Explainer: Garda industrial action unlikely to impact frontline policing for nowOpens in new window ]
[ Garda rosters dispute: Rank-and-file gardaí begin refusing voluntary overtimeOpens in new window ]
Mr Harris on Wednesday held separate meetings with the Association of Garda Superintendents and the Association of Chief Superintendents. On Thursday, he met with the GRA in the morning and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (Agsi) in the afternoon. Those four sessions were aimed at setting out how substantive negotiations – involving all four associations and Garda management – might be held towards resolving the rosters dispute.
The four associations and senior management are now due to meet on Friday to further explore the issue together. The GRA has already said it has a mandate from its members not to undertake any negotiations until Mr Harris defers the planned reintroduction of pre-pandemic rosters on November 6th.
To date, the GRA has maintained that position and has not taken part in any substantive negotiations. Though the GRA met Mr Harris on Thursday, and planned to be part of the group discussion on Friday morning, those sessions were not substantive negotiations. Mr Harris has also maintained his position, that the pandemic rosters must stop on November 6th, when pre-pandemic rosters would recommence.
Whether any middle ground can be reached on the November 6th deadline, which the GRA has described as a “precondition” to substantive talks towards formulating completely new rosters, remains to be seen. Sources said it was possible some of the Garda force might remain on the pandemic rosters beyond November 6th, with other parts of the workforce returning to the pre-pandemic rosters on that date.
However, the same sources said another form of concession or compromise could be reached to bypass the barrier that the November 6th deadline had become, or perhaps no agreement at all would be found. They added it was unclear what would happen next in the dispute, save to say the planned group meeting on Friday was a positive sign.
The GRA made no comment about the planned meeting. Garda Headquarters confirmed further discussions were planned for Friday.
Under the pandemic rosters – introduced in spring 2020 amid the first Covid-19 outbreak – Garda members moved to working longer, 12-hour, shifts in a pattern of four days on, four off. They had previously worked shorter shifts, six days on, four off. The pandemic rosters have proven very popular with rank and file gardaí, who get an extra day off every 10 days and who are paid more unsocial hours allowances.
However, Garda management says the pandemic rosters were designed for lockdown periods and are unsuitable for a society which has now reopened. Mr Harris has also pointed to the cost of the Covid-19 rosters, saying that added cost was resulting in the loss of 13,000 Garda working hours per month, which has impacted the policing service being provided to the public.
