AGSI members to vent anger over pay cut plan at conference
Delegates attending the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors conference will be in grim mood as they debate what strategy to adopt in relation the Croke Park II agreement.
More than a third of the 27 motions to be debated at the conference in Sligo relate to pay and conditions.
“The depth of feeling surrounding proposed pay cuts to our members will be palpable during our 35th annual delegate conference,” said John Redmond, general secretary of the AGSI.
Mr Redmond said members will eagerly await the address from Justice Minister Alan Shatter later today and Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan tomorrow afternoon.
“We sincerely hope they alleviate some of that anxiety,” said Mr Redmond.
Two motions from Cork — Cork West and Cork City — call on the AGSI executive “not to engage” with Garda management if pay cuts are being implemented.
The Clare branch calls on the executive to reject the agreement, while Dublin North Central demands the executive point out to Mr Shatter and the commissioner the “detrimental and damaging effect” the cuts will have on the welfare and morale of members.
Elsewhere, the Donegal branch is calling for the Uzi submachine gun, removed from the force last year, to be reissued to detectives.
The Sligo branch is demanding that all members engaged in plain- clothes duties in unmarked vehicles be armed.
