Garda Representative Association calls off work-to-rule after progress in negotiations

A work-to-rule planned by members of the Garda Representative Association for this week has been stood down after the organisation said it had made “significant progress with the Garda Commissioner”.

The industrial action was set to coincide, over the coming days, with some of the highest profile events of Ireland’s presidency of the EU Commission. They including the visit to Dublin on Thursday of about 50 government leaders and heads of state, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for the European Political Community (EPC) meeting.

In addition to the EU-related event, a number of protests are planned and if the public sector strike goes ahead, there will also be a substantial march by union members in Dublin that day.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan had expressed confidence, however, that despite the logistical challenges presented by issues such as travel, An Garda Síochána would have been in a position to effectively police the situation.

There had been concerns about the potential impact of the action on one of the biggest security operations in the history of the State. However, the action was called off on Monday after a vote by the GRA’s national executive.

The work-to-rule, which had been due to last five days, was set to happen over what the GRA viewed as breaches of overtime arrangements and repeated cancellations of rest days since the EU presidency commenced in June.

It said it was taking the action in part because the issues needed to be addressed for the period after the presidency came to an end.

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that enhanced premiums would be paid to gardaí having to work overtime on Thursday. It was also confirmed that some of the wider issues involved were being looked at by the Rosters Review Group

In a message that went to GRA members in one division on Monday evening, it was stated that after “long and vigorous debate and negotiations, the work-to-rule policy has been lifted”.