Senior gardaí seeking backdated 46% increase in annual allowance

The claim on behalf of 169 superintendents and 48 chief superintendents, which is backdated to January 1, 2018, could be worth up to €4.2m.

Senior garda officers are seeking a backdated 46% increase in their annual €8,500 availability allowance.

If successful, the claim on behalf of 169 superintendents and 48 chief superintendents, could see each officer being paid an extra €3,910 for each of the last four years, as well as additional allowance for this year.

The claim, which is backdated to January 1, 2018, could be worth up to €4.2m.

The dispute over the allowance, which is meant to compensate superintendents and chief superintendents for being available outside of their regular working hours, is historic and attempts to resolve it have repeatedly stalled.

Last year, for example, following a review of this and other issues, it was recommended there should be a 25% increase in the existing €150-€180 weekly allowance.

However that increase was never implemented and, as a result, the Association of Garda Superintendents (AGS) agreed their members should only work “in strict compliance with the core duties of the garda code”.

This has impacted not only how they carry out investigations on behalf of the garda watchdog GSOC (Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission), but also the implementation of the new garda operations model which is underway as part of a major restructuring and modernisation of the force.

One of the key elements of this reform is the move towards the amalgamation of garda divisions and the redeployment of more gardaí from desk jobs to frontline policing.

Claim brought to labour Court

The claim was brought before the Labour Court in November, just weeks after the then Justice Minister Heather Humphreys told the association she understood their frustration “regarding progress” on the availability allowance.

And, speaking at the annual delegate conference on October 13, she assured members that herself and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath were “committed to finding a resolution to the matter”.

She said at the time: “My officials continue to engage with colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Garda Management.

“I know they are engaging with you and they will continue to do so in a sincere effort to move the position forward in a positive manner.

This situation will only be resolved by a genuine commitment to engagement by all parties.

The Labour Court has now released its recommendation following a December 16 hearing into the AGS claim, which was lodged on November 25.

Labour Court officials have said the matter is “highly unusual” because only the AGS has asked the court to investigate the dispute over the allowance, and not the force itself.

It said: “It is a highly unusual situation that parties who are party to a collective agreement containing agreed dispute resolution arrangements would come before the Court outside the arrangements set down in Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990."

Under that statutory provision, a hearing of the Court is convened only in circumstances where both parties have requested the Court to investigate their trade dispute.

And they noted: “The employer has advised the court that the Association’s submission to the court, provided in the days before the hearing, is the first notification it has had that the claim before it amounts to 46% of the value of the current allowance.

“The employer, following a review which took place against the background of agreed terms of reference, is of the view, for the reasons set out in that review, that no operational basis exists for an increase in the availability allowance paid to members of the Association.” 

The court also noted that in addition to the disputed availability allowance, the parties are “disagreed as to the potential for implementation of an increase in the context of public pay policy”.

The Labour Court recommended both sides should return to agreed dispute resolution procedures with the support of the Workplace Relations Commission’s conciliation service to seek agreement on the claims for an increase in the availability allowance.

However, it said the matter should be referred back to the court for a definitive recommendation if they could not resolve the matter themselves by April 30, 2022.