Rank-and-file gardaí are set to withdraw from overtime in Dublin on five dates next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
The industrial action, which includes Halloween and the day the Budget is due to be announced, was approved by the Garda Representative Association’s Central Executive Committee.
GRA members are expected to withdraw from overtime on 6 October, 10 October, 17 October, 24 October and 31 October. Some of the dates coincide with meetings connected to Ireland’s EU Presidency.
Members of the GRA’s Central Executive Committee will also march to Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park, although a date for the protest has yet to be confirmed.
GRA General Secretary Ronan Slevin said the action was intended to “highlight the ongoing frustration felt by the members that we represent and have been mandated to act on their behalf and in their best interests”.
The association is seeking the implementation of a Subsistence and Travel Scheme negotiated and agreed through the Workplace Relations Commission. It is also calling for management to honour the Midlands Working Time Agreement 2024 and for the Garda management, Department of Justice and Department of Public Expenditure to progress claims made under local bargaining arrangements.
Mr Slevin has also called on Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers to “secure full collective bargaining rights for the GRA at any future pay negotiations”.
In a letter to members, he said: “We have spent months and years trying desperately to advance and resolve all of these matters and we have consistently been met with procrastination, delay and avoidance.”
He added that the GRA would make direct contact with the Garda Commissioner’s office and the Department of Justice in the coming days, while divisional representatives would continue to update members.
GRA President Niall Hodgins said the decision to withdraw overtime in Dublin was intended to “highlight the frustration and annoyance at the way we have been treated by both garda management and government departments on these important issues”.
He said the issues had “dragged on for many years”, adding that members had faced “continual denial and delay”.
The Department of Justice said it had not yet received official communication from the GRA regarding the planned action.
A department spokesperson said: “Officials in the Department will, in consultation with Garda management, consider any correspondence the GRA provides.”
