Eviction ban, rosters and gender identity on agenda for Garda conference
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Gender identity in the workplace, the new Garda roster and the eviction ban will be some of the subjects discussed when the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) gathers in Galway on Monday for its 45th annual delegate conference.
The AGSI said it would seek the formal withdrawal of a recent Directive on Gender Identity in the Workplace due to recent comments by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that the mis-gendering of a person could lead to discipline and a lack of consultation on the directive with members.
“AGSI are acutely aware of the rights of people to transition and be supported in doing so by workplace colleagues,” AGSI general secretary Antoinette Cunningham said.
“In the absence of an awareness and education programme for AGSI members on how to properly support colleagues who wish to transition, it is unfair of the Garda Commissioner to issue this directive in its current form, and even more unfair is the threat of discipline hanging over us if we are misguided due to a lack of education.
“There are a large number of people in the Garda organisation who are not aware of the rights and entitlements of people who want to transition and how on a practical daily basis they can be supported in the workplace.”
Meanwhile, the Garda roster will be top of the agenda for the 140 delegates, who represent 31 AGSI branches.
Health, safety and welfare issues have arisen from the Garda Commissioner’s failure to adhere to the industrial relations process established in 2020 for Garda Dispute Resolution, the AGSI said.
On Friday, the commissioner rejected all of the AGSI’s suggestions on how the current impasse on rosters could be resolved, “to their extreme disappointment”.
Ms Cunningham said it seems now the only one with a fixed position is the Garda Commissioner, who will not discuss anything, only his referral to the Workplace Relations Commission.
Membership mood is “very low” and it is not being made any easier by the commissioner’s refusal to engage internally on rosters, the AGSI said.
“Our annual delegate conference is timely as there is a lot to discuss including what and how members will react to the updates on this dispute, and to engage and listen to members on what forms of industrial action they may wish to take.”
The AGSI has also criticised a tweet by Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin, which featured an image of a famine eviction edited to include contemporary gardaí and private security guards, as “deeply offensive” .
The AGSI will ask the commissioner to re-clarify what the role of gardaí is at evictions so that members can be "very clear”, Ms Cunningham told RTÉ.
Justice Minister Simon Harris will address delegates on Monday, while Commissioner Harris will attend the conference on Tuesday.
There are 24 motions on the programme over the next three days, ranging from pay and allowances, training, representation, uniform and equipment and organisational transformation to work practices and promotions.
More than 150 frontline sergeants and inspectors will attend the three-day event.