Gardai, dissatisfied with the Government's failure to resolve their pay claim, have drawn up an plan to highlight their grievances, which they say could eventually have a serious effect "on the capacity of the force to operate".
The central executive of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) met yesterday and unanimously agreed that a plan of action and protest must take place immediately.
The first protest will take place at the Dail on December 2nd. "This will continue for as long as is necessary in order to convince the Government of the levels of anger and frustration in the force in respect of pay."
The GRA, which claims to represent 8,000 members, will then hold a national protest march in Dublin on December 9th. The next phase will be to enforce strict work practices, which, the GRA forecasts, "will have a serious effect on the capacity of the force to operate".
The central executive committee stressed that it was taking this "ultimate course" with great reluctance. However, it pointed out that the issue had now become so serious that it must meet this challenge "head on" in order to satisfy the requirements of its own members, who were becoming extremely critical of the failure of the GRA to address levels of pay.
Last month, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, met representatives of the two major garda organisations and said he wanted to make progress on their pay claims. He recommended they involve the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in developing a "process" for a pay review. His Department, in a carefully worded statement at the time, linked pay to the introduction of a Strategic Management Initiative report on the Garda, completed by a review group this year. This recommended a radical reform of the force.
It recommended a "bottom-up review" of the Garda structure, which would result in closures, or shorter opening hours, at Garda stations, and adjustments to officers' working hours.
The Minister has said the issue of Garda pay "will have to be set in the context of Government policy on public sector pay".