Conference Report 2016

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CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT GRA mEmbERS REjECT lANSDOwNE ROAD AGREEmENT Members of the Garda Representative Association voted to reject the terms offered under the Lansdowne Road Agreement [LRA]; the ballot result was announced on 29th October 2015. The vote was recorded 10.9% ‘Yes’ against 86.5% ‘No’. Turnout was 60% of members of Garda rank entitled to register their preference in this ballot. While one can speculate on the reasons as to why our members were unimpressed by this replacement deal on offer, our recently retired General Secretary, PJ Stone, had told the Chairman of the Workplace Relations Commission [WRC] Mr Kieran Mulvey during a briefing of the proposals, that the 30 hours unpaid overtime would most likely constitute an obstacle – as Garda Management had repeatedly directed members to work such hours against the spirit of the Agreement. Under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement [HRA] these agreed hours were intended to be worked as ‘soft’ hours to facilitate training and upskilling or the policing of community and sporting events. In many instances these hours were invoked for the policing of public order incidents, protests and extensions to night duty that would deservedly attract premium payments. The Central Executive Committee met on 3 November 2015 to discuss the implications of this outcome. It was agreed that no further discussion would be entertained for the 30 hours unpaid overtime that had been agreed under the terms of the HRA, and this practice would cease from 1 January 2016 as scheduled under the HRA. Members of the Association would honour all commitments made under the HRA, but the State and Garda Management must honour their own commitments especially towards the Review of Industrial Relations and Garda Pay as set out in the HRA. During the special CEC meeting of 3 November a timescale was outlined for the conclusion of the Review that had been due to be completed by 1 June 2014, but had been repeatedly deferred because of the intransigence of the official side. The date for conclusion of the Review was set as 29 February 2016. Despite an expedient and exhaustive submission by the GRA titled The Case for the Gardaí Clearly Stated to the chairman of the Review, Mr Raymond McGee, and assurances from the Department of Justice and Equality, this deadline was not been met. It is currently expected to report sometime in the coming months. Progress has been made and the Review is ongoing. Another outcome from the special CEC meeting of 3 November was to seek an ongoing independent Garda Remuneration Review Body to reflect the unique nature of the role and responsibilities of members of An Garda Síochána and to take account of the restrictions placed on both members’ lives and on their recourse to industrial relations. Alongside this, it was agreed to seek collective access to the WRC on a permanent and formal basis. The grievances of Garda rank have increasingly resulted from proposals and legislation emanating from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, compared with a decreasing influence from the Department of Justice and Equality. A meeting was facilitated with the Minister for Justice and Equality to discuss the implications of the rejected Agreement – but was not with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. To compound the difficulty in making swift and substantial progress since Conference last year has been further transfer of responsibility between personnel, departments and oversight bodies. The formal establishment of the Police Authority on 1 January 2016 and the impact on Garda Management and oversight has yet to yield the full implications for the organisation and relationships between stakeholders. While the Garda Inspectorate’s report Changing Policing in Ireland was published in November, we currently await the response from Garda Management and the level of implementation of its recommendations. This report also arose from the HRA, which required an independent review of the structure, operation and deployment of the Garda Síochána. While we were signatories to the Agreement and had made an initial substantial submission we were denied access to an interim report or the opportunity to make submissions to the final draft. The Association retains the view that the Garda Inspectorate cannot be regarded as an independent organisation while it reports to the Minister for Justice and Equality; and we are increasingly cognisant that the Inspectorate continues to avoid the question of a garda optimum number analysis in its reports. The issue of the role and responsibility of a garda in the 21st Century, the number of Gardaí required and a formalised structure of 10 Garda Representative Association
Section 1: Pay and Allowances industrial relations are required to prevent the current paralysis recurring. When the HRA expires on 1 July 2016, members of the GRA will be outside of any national wage agreement, and the threat of the withdrawal of pay increments for those on the first 17 points of the pay scale remains real. Whether a new government will have the political will to further punish junior members of the Force on the basis of our democratic decision remains to be seen. This would be both unfair and unjust. As it stands – if section 7 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 (FEMPI) is invoked Government may freeze incremental increases until September 2018 for anyone not covered by a collective agreement. The Association has rejected the Lansdowne Road Agreement; and we contend that the Review of Industrial Relations for An Garda Síochána and Garda Pay should be completed before any further moves are made. The scope and remit for this Review was open-ended and not restricted by financial considerations. We hope that, like its predecessors, such a root-and-branch review will provide a roadmap for future negotiations and developments. The Conroy Commission of 1970 was seismic; followed nine years later by the Ryan Committee of Inquiry. The Haddington Road Agreement established what should become a contemporary version of the Conroy Report, updated to include the industrial relations mechanisms available to members. Our current mechanisms are outmoded and have repeatedly failed to sufficiently and fairly address the grievances and desires for a 21st century police officer. The Council of Europe made several key findings yet to be addressed; that Gardaí do not enjoy trade union status, automatic access to the instruments of State [the WRC] or the right to collective bargaining. The European Social Charter provides the right to take collective industrial action. Another adoption by the Council of Europe is the European Code of Police Ethics (2001) that facilitates equal social, economic and political rights for police officers with other citizens. The Haddington Road Review, under the auspices of the WRC has much ground to cover. Such long overdue reform and modernisation is welcome for many reasons; the future career prospects, work-life balance, job satisfaction and the means to satisfy the basic needs of all members among them. Other public servants were not granted such a wide-ranging review and this is recognition of the unique status of the garda, and the restrictions we operate under. Our job was utterly changed by the implementation of the Garda Síochána Act (2005) and we expect more tangible change in the months and years ahead as the organisation responds to the Police Authority and Garda Inspectorate. Hereunder is the Association’s submission to the Chairman of the Review of An Garda Síochána titled The Case for the Gardaí clearly Stated The Case for the Gardaí Clearly Stated SubmISSION TO ThE REVIEw Of INDuSTRIAl RElATIONS fOR AN GARDA SíOCháNA AND GARDA PAy Haddington Road Agreement 2013-2016, December 2015 fOREwORD The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has most recently rejected the Lansdowne Road Agreement; while we can speculate as to why each individual within an overwhelming 86% of our members were unimpressed by the deal, we can outline with some clarity the current obstacles facing our staff association. Unusually for a foreword to such a submission of industrial relations desires, dissatisfactions and grievances, it is worth listing them: 1. There is no working mechanism for industrial relations within An Garda Síochána. 2. Our members’ pay has been multiply reduced and not restored. 38th Annual Delegate Conference 11
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