Mid-ranking gardaí say no progress made in talks to avert strike

Escalating industrial action campaign by AGSI to continue on Friday

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has said there has been “no progress” made in talks with the Government aimed at averting planned industrial action.

The AGSI negotiating team is due to meet Department of Justice officials again onWednesday for their set of face-to-face talks in six days.

However, AGSI president Antoinette Cunningham has said no progress has been made so far “which would warrant us calling off our planned industrial action”.

A second day of escalating industrial action by members of the AGSI is scheduled to take place on Friday.

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“We entered two days of talks last week and gave certain commitments which we fulfilled, however, it is disappointing that we are not in a position to report any meaningful progress,” Ms Cunningham said.

From 7am on Friday until 7am on Saturday members of the AGSI will refuse to use the Garda IT system, Pulse, and also decline to undertake administrative duties such as detailing members for duty, processing files or responding to correspondence from management.

The AGSI said no derogations had been given to members in relation to this Friday’s industrial action.

On the four Fridays in November members of the AGSI are scheduled to join with rank-and-file gardaí who are members of the Garda Representative Assocaition in taking strike action.

The AGSI said it had three key objectives in its campaign of industrial relations: a pay restoration claim of 16.5 per cent, access to direct negotiations on pay at the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court in the future and recognition and implementation of the EU Social Committee's decision of 2014 which found that gardaí should be permitted to strike, negotiate pay and engage in union action.

Martin Wall

Martin Wall

Martin Wall is the former Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times. He was previously industry correspondent