PDForra in legal move over inaction on pay advice

By Sean O’Riordan, Defence Correspondent

The organisation representing around 6,000 members of the Defence Forces is to take legal action against the Department of Defence after it refused to implement an adjudicator’s recommendation to pay around €5m to hard-pressed personnel.

In 2010, PDForra requested adjudication on a number of claims which had been the subject of reports recording disagreement at the Conciliation Council.

The adjudications involved, amongst other things, claims for increased ‘technician pay’ for chefs, increases to the elite Army Ranger Wing (ARW) allowance and the introduction of free rations for recruits and apprentices.

The adjudicator made a finding the ARW allowance should be increased from €134 to €200 weekly and backdated to June 2006.

One of the main reasons the adjudicator recommended such an increase was that the elite troops had to live in more expensive rented or mortgage zones near their base at the Curragh.

The Rangers are also on call 24/7 and have to carry out more technical duties and exercises than other members of the army.

In the case of chefs, the adjudicator made a recommendation that technician pay should be increased by €13.20 to €40.42 weekly. It was also recommended the increase should be backdated to June 2006.

The Department of Defence has recently entered into correspondence with PDForra indicating it is prepared to implement the findings, but without backdating the claim as recommended.

“To say that the members represented by PDForra were disappointed by the manner by which these outstanding adjudications were being addressed is an understatement,” said PDForra general secretary Gerard Guinan.

PDForra has already won a court action on the Department of Defence’s non-adherence to the Working Time Act (WTA) 1997 and the rank and file body is preparing to take more cases against it.

The association won a landmark High Court case last June in respect of a breach in the WTA. As a result, Susan O’Donnell, a member of the army, is to get annual leave she lost in 2015 and receive an ex-gratia sum in compensation.

The association advised there were 30 more cases that it intends to take to the High Court under the WTA.

PDForra has claimed that the department’s intransigence is forcing the association to take a legal route on a number of issues.

The association is also preparing to take a case on Freedom of Assembly after serving members were prevented by military law from taking part in a recent march on the Dáil to highlight poor wages and conditions.

The department issued a statement saying there are a number of outstanding adjudication findings across the public service which have not been implemented at this time, having regard to the provisions of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2009-2015.

“The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, provides for consideration of a process to address any outstanding adjudications, having due regard to the question of their continued validity and cost implications,” the department said.

“Discussions in this regard, with the relevant Representative Association, are ongoing.”