'Morale is on the floor': 200 gardaí march over roster dispute
Members travelled from across the country to highlight their frustration at the extension of the covid-contingency roster. Picture: Collins
An estimated 180 members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) marched to Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park on Monday morning to deliver a letter outlining concerns over rosters.
Members travelled from nationwide to highlight their frustration at the extension of the covid-contingency roster which they say is having an impact on work-life balance, family-friendly working, and take-home pay.
Gardaí have been working on rosters drawn up in March 2020 to respond to the policing demands placed by the covid-19 pandemic. Last Monday, the covid contingency roster was extended until September by Commissioner Drew Harris.
Prior to this roster, gardaí worked 10-hour shifts, six days on and four days off. However, they now work 12-hour shifts four days on and four days off while some could work 14 out of 16 days.
The roster has been extended by the Commissioner 15 times in the last three years, which members say is causing uncertainty.
Sergeant Brian Howard from Clare came to Dublin and said “morale was on the floor”.
“We’re here to try and get a voice to the Commissioner to listen to us. There’s a lot of uncertainty in relation to rosters despite his knee-jerk reaction last Monday to extend the roster to next September,” he said.
Sergeant Howard said Commissioner Harris is not listening to AGSI members’ issues or priorities and that members are effectively unable to plan ahead due to uncertainty surrounding the rosters.
“We’re here to try and convince the Commissioner to listen to us. It’s affecting all the membership, it’s having consequences in relation to child welfare, people trying to plan their lives, holidays, medical appointments.
“This is the last straw, this is not something we want to do, we’ve all taken time out of our lives to be here today because we’re so strong in our opinion about this so we have no choice but to turn up here today,” he said.
Before delivering a letter for the Garda Commissioner to outline the membership's concerns, AGSI General Secretary Antoinette Cunningham said the Commissioner told her last week that there “was no problem with morale” to which laughs could be heard within the crowd.
Ms Cunningham said it was “unacceptable” that Mr Harris did not honour the understanding that rosters would return to normal saying instead the new roster is being “imposed” on members.
“It has a huge impact on over half our membership who will be asked to work extra hours, 47 extra days per year, some of them will be asked to work seven days in a row followed by two days off and immediately another seven days on,” she said.
“We signed up to a process on how internal disputes would be resolved. The Garda commissioner placed this matter into dispute on 4 January, this year.
“There has been one meeting of the internal process and now he is trying to elevate it to the Work Relations Commission,” she said before adding the one meeting was not a fair opportunity to resolve the issue.
She said it was a “premature move” and that the commissioner will not give them the chance to “exhaust internal options”.
Ms Cunningham said this was not a serious attempt to deal with the issue and the executive will be meeting next week to consider a second day of action as well as writing to Justice Minister Simon Harris.
“We’re disadvantaged in what we can do to protest around our issues,” she said.#
Gardaí are not legally allowed to strike and have previously expressed dissatisfaction by calling in sick.
In 1998, the Blue Flu saw 5,000 members call in sick and was the first work stoppage in the history of the force.
The industrial action was called over mounting anger among gardaí over pay levels. It left some parts of the country without any gardaí on duty while the Dublin force was reduced by 68%.
As part of a contingency plan, the army was put on standby, some stations were closed and some court sittings were cancelled.
Then Garda Commissioner Patrick Byrne described the move as a “black day for his force”.
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