The dispute is over pay and conditions…
Gardaí have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over pay and conditions.
Of the 9,875 members balloted members of the Garda Representative Association, 95% voted in favour of industrial action over their ongoing dispute with The Department of Justice over pay.
Just 4.7% voted against the action.
The GRA represents over 10,000 Gardaí, and 66% of those entitled to vote, voted in the ballot.
The ballot preempted a pay deal brokered by the Department of Justice over the weekend and increases pressure on the government to ensure that the deal from last week currently being considered by the GRA is accepted.
If the GRA accepts the deal, the freeze on their pay increments will be lifted. No serving Garda with under 17 years experience currently receives these increments.
Ciaran O’Neill, President of the GRA, said: “We have surveyed our members to find out if there is an appetite for industrial action. Members have done everything that was asked of them and the reluctance of the Government to reward our patience has driven us towards this move.
“It is not surprising to hear that our members are willing to take some form of industrial action to see their pay and conditions restored.”
Gardaí by law are not allowed to go on strike but they could implement other measures such as refusing to do overtime to disrupt the service.
There was also the infamous blue flu back in 1998 when 5,000 members of An Garda Síochána called in sick for work in the first work stoppage in the history of the police force in Ireland. The result meant some Garda stations closed and the army were put on standby as a contingency.
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