WRC to oversee talks aimed at averting garda strike

The Workplace Relations Commission is to become involved in talks aimed at averting a planned strikeby gardaí next week over pay and working conditions.

Direct talks between the Department of Justice and the Garda Representative Association (GRA) have been underway for several days without a resolution being secured.

A joint statement issued on Friday stated: "This afternoon, the Department of Justice and Equality and the Garda Representative Association have agreed to utilise the services of the State industrial relations institutions on an ad hoc basis, to augment the current negotiations in an attempt to avert the planned industrial action by members".

The 10,000 members of the GRA are scheduled to take part in a strike on the four Fridays of November.

Members of the Assocaition of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) are also expected to take part in the strikes.

Members of both groups are scheduled to stage unprecedented strike action for each of the four Fridays in November.

Work-to-rule

Agsi is staging limited industrial action on Friday involving a boycott ofthe Garda IT system as well as a refusal to carry out some administrative duties. More than 2,000 garda sergeants and inspectors are taking part.

From 7am on Friday until 7am on Saturday, members are refusing to use Pulse, the Garda’s internal computer system. Agsi members also boycotted the Pulse last Friday.

They are also refusing to carry out administrative duties such as detailing members for duty, processing files or responding to correspondence from management. The union said no derogations have been given on this Friday’s industrial action.

Agsi president Antoinette Cunningham, said that association would continue negotiations “for as long as it takes.”She expressed disappointment at the pace of the talks to date, but she said that they were at a very early stage.

She told told RTÉ's Morning Ireland there was no sense of divide between the GRA and the Agsi.

Speaking in An Cheathrú Rua on Friday afternoon, Minister for Education Richard Bruton said the Government was putting in “enormous effort “ to try and resolve industrial action by gardaí.

“But obviously it takes two sides to agree and so far that hasn’t be reached.”

Turning to the issue of the teachers’ dispute, Mr Bruton said: “There has been initial contact with the ASTI since yesterday but I understand there has been a meeting of their standing committee, and they will be deciding after that how we proceed.

“ Clearly we are very keen to engage in dialogue with the ASTI. We have a very substantial offer on the table which we have negotiated with the INTO and TUI.”

Mr Bruton added: “We have to balance the legitimate claims and expectations of public service workers to see advances with these other demands on our system is a post-crash environment.”