Conference Report 2016

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CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT Association that allowances subject to taxation should be pensionable. Hence, the GRA requests that this Review assesses the category (b) allowances (above), with a view to their reclassification. 5.57 Scope for appropriate initiatives in this regard has been provided via the Public Accounts Committee in its Report on Public Sector Allowances (2012) when it recommended the ‘streamlining and simplification’ of the structures that have built up around garda pay. Such initiatives serving to subsume allowances into pay may well remove the illusion that they constitute a ‘perk’; and are framed as such in public discourse. 5.58 The relevant government minister (on initiating a review of allowances across the public sector) acknowledged the point that a considerable portion of the 800 allowances under review would be better described as ‘pay’ and even instanced his own ‘allowance’ as a minister paid on top of his salary as a TD. He noted, “it’s not an allowance, it’s my wages”; and also cited the principal’s allowance paid to teachers (added to their basic salary and based on the size of the school) as ‘pay’ rather than an ‘allowance’. 5.59 This accords with the Garda Commissioner’s assessment, on advising the Public Accounts Committee that some of the allowances for review for both new entrants and existing beneficiaries could be consolidated into basic pay following negotiation as: “…the need to match demand with the nature of the employment dictates where allowances should be paid and…a number of allowances could be subsumed into basic pay.” 5.60 Whilst supportive of the Minister and the Commissioner on this point, it would be remiss of the Association not to point out that the task will not always be as straightforward as it appears on the basis of an initial superficial consideration. Discriminatory Treatment of unsocial hours 5.61 As outlined by a host of authoritative sources, overtime and unsocial working hours are an integral feature of working life in An Garda Síochána. As elaborated upon by the independent Industrial Relations News Report in 2009: “Official sources also argue that…overtime provides the Garda Commissioner with the ability to allocate resources to particular situations and peak demands, as and when the needs arise.” 5.62 An Garda Síochána cannot function unless staff work overtime. This necessity is underlined that members are directed to work overtime. 5.63 The disadvantageous divisor (1/41) deployed to calculate overtime and unsocial working arrangements for gardaí becomes even more disconcerting as many other public service occupations weekly pay is divided by lesser divisors in premium payment calculations. It is reported that a divisor of 35 hours is used for both health sector and local government clerical staff and for local authority outdoor workers including full-time Fire Service personnel, a 37.5 hours divisor applies to nurses and a 39 hours divisor applies extensively for health sector attendants and support staff. 5.64 An independent review in February 2008 recommended that the divisor for GRA members be brought into line with that deployed for other public sector employees. To date, the government has failed to implement this recommendation. The arbitration report stipulates that: “The present Garda divisor for overtime of 41 is an anomaly which has not been reconsidered since its introduction in 1974. At the hearing before the Arbitration Board the GRA expressed a measure of understandable frustration that this situation, which it regards as irrational, has remained in place for so long. “The Arbitration Board is of the opinion that it would be unseemly to let the matter drag on indefinitely and so the Board recommends that when the terms of the Towards 2016 Social Partnership Agreement expires the parties should make a determined effort to bring forward a solution that is equitable in settling on the proper divisor for the gardaí.” 5.65 Given that the government subsequently set aside the provisions of the Towards 2016 Social Partnership Agreement of which this Association had no part in the negotiation of, it is incumbent upon this Review to appropriately address the matter. Payment to the Association’s membership for working unsocial hours cannot be categorised as ‘excessive’. 5.66 The rate of remuneration paid is considerably less than applies to large swathes of the public and private sector. It is also pertinent that overtime has traditionally been paid in An Garda Síochána at time 38 Garda Representative Association
Section 1: Pay and Allowances and a half for ordinary duty and double time for Sundays. For ordinary overtime where members apply voluntarily to work overtime the rate has been reduced (under the provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement) to time and a quarter. From a comparative perspective, it is insightful (if not somewhat infuriating) to review the data summarising the key results of an IBEC (2001) survey of overtime premia in 508 companies in the Irish manufacturing and wholesale distribution sectors. This indicates that the lowest compensation ratio in use is Time + ½ in sharp contrast with the Time + 1⁄4 applied to gardaí. Many employers pay considerably more than this ratio. 5.67 The relatively privileged position of private sector workers compared with gardaí on this pay criterion, a more expansive survey on the same topic was concluded by IBEC in March 2006. This overtime report entailed a survey of 760 places of employment across the manufacturing, distribution and services sectors. This also revealed that that the lowest compensation ratio in use is Time + ½. The updated dataset (2013) covering 436 companies employing 141,444 staff in the manufacturing, distribution and service sectors reveals yet again that many employers pay considerably more than An Garda Síochána for antisocial and overtime working arrangements. unsocial hours Shiftworking 5.68 The basic position towards shift pay arrangements affected by the revised rostering system Westmanstown Agreement needs redress. The treatment of unsocial hours in An Garda Síochána; premium payments for night work start at time and a sixth (for 6pm to 8pm) rising to time and a quarter (8pm to 8am); with a fixed daily allowance for Saturday work (€15 per day) and double time for Sunday duty. 5.69 Payment for unsocial hours is also much less favourable for members of An Garda Síochána than other workers. This is attributable to the usage of a 1/41th of weekly pay as the key divisor. 5.70 This relative deprivation for gardaí also extends to shift premium payment arrangements. A cursory review of the data drawn from IBEC’s (2009) survey of 93 companies employing 41,443 staff confirms the relatively disadvantageous premia payment ratio applicable to gardaí. A comparative analysis of the garda evening premium at time and a sixth (16.7%) compares unfavourably with that of all other premia for evening work on two, three and four shiftcycles. The ratio applied to Gardaí for night work (8pm-8am at time and a quarter) compares unfavourably with that of the overwhelming majority of other premia paid. Employment Conditions 5.71 The conditions of employment of the Garda rank is both extensive and complex spanning health, safety and welfare, rosters, career breaks, pension provisions, incentivised early retirement. 5.72 The Association retains grave reservations about the process and provisions associated with the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014. Furthermore, there is now clear evidence that the Westmanstown Working Time Agreement is being abused. The revised rostering arrangements have revolutionised the shift patterns and reconfigured available resources in An Garda Síochána. However, it would appear that there is a lack of compliance with the daily rest requirements of the European Working Time Directive and the compensatory rest requirements of the Working Time Agreement. 5.73 To ensure compliance with all provisions an effective information technology system providing comprehensive, accurate and verifiable records is crucial and has already been identified as essential to compliance by the Garda Inspectorate in its sixth report. 5.74 There are also issues of concern regarding the ability of members to take leave when required. There is a delicate balance between derogations and the all-important protections and the relevant review team should be fully focused on assessing and ensuring same compliance. Appropriate arrangements must be made by way of primary legislation or ministerial order to enable the WTA to be subject to the Labour Court approval process set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Annualised hours 5.75 The GRA agreed to outline its basic position towards an annualised hours arrangement. The recently revised rostering system or Westmanstown Agreement is the subject of a discrete review process or processes. However, the Association acknowledges the relevance of an annualised hours system towards this revised rostering system and the unique demands associated with working in An Garda Síochána. 5.76 The revised roster is a five unit, 10-week configuration operating on the principle of six days 38th Annual Delegate Conference 3
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