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18th July, 2011
for the attention of
Each member:
Garda Representative Association
CROKE PARK
Members will be aware under the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014, known as the Croke Park Agreement, members of An Garda Síochána had to
comply with certain terms under the Action Plan and in particular the specific terms of the agreement with regard to rosters.
The Agreement which members voted on sets out very clearly that the Association would ‘constructively engage for the purposes of developing in
2010 and to be piloted and implemented as soon as possible thereafter a more effective Garda rostering system to more closely match the availability of staff with policing demands while protecting the welfare of
members. ‘
WORKING TIME AGREEMENT
The Association in its approach to this portion of the agreement has sought to deal with more extensive issues which it felt were
important in the context of any new roster. In particular, we were concerned that we ensure that members were given a work-life balance which reflects the demands of modern society and taking into account
the pressures of both work and home related issues; in an effort to secure a balance in any rostering system which deals with those two issues in a fair and equitable manner. Furthermore, the
Association felt that in order to fully understand all of the requirements of any new rostering agreement, it would be necessary in the context of our own position to have in place a very strong Working Time Agreement
which would underpin any rostering proposal. To this end, it must also be borne in mind that the Association were of the view as a result of advices received and as a result of the report of the Garda Inspectorate which underpinned the need for the Garda Siochana to be compliant with a roster which reflected the European Working Time Directive of 1993. To this end, it is helpful to give some background as to where the Garda Siochana are in the context of that Directive.
EU WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE
The European Working Time Directive 1993 was transposed into Irish law by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
However, that particular Act clearly exempted the Garda Siochana and Defence Forces from the provisions of the Directive and to that extent the Government sought to derogate both of those parties completely from
the tenets of the Directive. Coincidentally, other European countries at that particular time pursued to introduce the Directive with certain provisions that they sought exemptions on and these
related to the entitlement to work more than 48 hours etc. and that will be dealt with in greater detail as we work through the proposal.
Up the present day the Garda Siochana have not been subjected to the Organisation of Working Time Act and whilst the European Directive is in place and
remains in place it has also been amended by a further Directive of 2003. In tandem with that there have been several European Court of Justice Rulings in respect of best work practices. The European
Court of Justice has set out in various judgements specific criticisms of non-compliance with the Directive as it was written in 1993.
It is the Association’s understanding that if anyone were to challenge the Irish Government on their failure to implement the Directive that it would
be very difficult for the Irish Government to defend that position. Therefore, based on that premise and the principal of finding a Working Time Agreement and a roster which reflected the European
Working Time Directive, the Association sought the advices and assistance of various experts in order to represent you and your interests in the best possible manner.
MEDICAL ADVICE
We secured the assistance of Dr Andrew Coogan
who advised the Association on matters pertaining to their health and wellbeing and the implications of the current rostering system and the negative impact it is having on members’ health and home life work-work balance.
To understand this more fully, the issue of the circadian rhythm in regard to the sleep patterns of members of An Garda Siochana were analysed in great
detail and it was Dr Coogan’s contention that the cycle which members currently work are injurious and could have carcinogenic affect on their health and it is imperative at this stage that we reverse this
phenomenon and ensure that the pattern of work is clockwise and consistent with the body clock. In effect, it is almost like people who travel long journeys and suffer from the effect of jetlag.
Members who are at the coalface of policing and, in particular, operational officers working the current roster - their bodies feel that they are in a constant state of jetlag because of the rhythm of the
roster.
NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
The Association also felt that it was incumbent on us to conduct both national and international research into Working
Time Agreements and rostering arrangements which prevailed in analogous working related scenes and, to that end, a number of case practices were pursued and benchmarked in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark
and Sweden. This research proved invaluable to the Association. I wish to acknowledge the contribution of Mr. Joe Wallace, Professor of Limerick University in respect
of the information and assistance given to the Association in setting out for us details of the various case studies which gave rise to our position in negotiations on the requirement and necessity for to
introduce a Working Time Agreement which would follow on from a roster which was based on the principle of the Working Time Directive and more importantly based on the premise of acceptance, predictability and
presence. This simply means that members would only accept any new rostering agreement and buy into it on the basis that they felt it gave them something in return and that they had a better system of working than which currently exists.
PREDICTABILITY
Equally, it is of the utmost importance, that the predictability of any roster would not be subject to the whims and changes of
Management and that members could plan their lives and work around their family requirements and also be in position to know their work requirements. This was something we felt that was incumbent on the
Association to endeavour to deal with in the context of any discussions or negotiations.
Thirdly, “presence” relates to the fact of the amount of time that is spent at work. To this end, that will be dealt with in greater
detail in the context of the various meetings which the Association had with its members during the course of the negotiations.
NEGOTIATION
The Association in approaching these discussions were conscious of the necessity to remain strictly within the parameters of the European
Working Time Directive, which focused Garda Management’s attention on the necessity in the first instance to set out a Working Time Agreement. Much discussion, negotiation and time and energy
have gone into putting forward our proposals in that regard; those negotiations have not yet concluded on the Working Time Agreement and it is a work in progress which is going to take some time to
finalise. When the matter is finalised to the satisfaction of all concerned it will be an agreement reached and members will be advised accordingly of its contents and be given an opportunity to have their
say.
As has always been the case, the rostering proposals, if and when they are agreed, will be subject, after a pilot, for members to cast their decision as
has been promised heretofore in all dealings with this particular issue.
As has already been alluded to, in approaching any negotiations on the Working Time Agreement the parameters of the European Directive had to be firmly in
focus and there are a number of principal considerations which had to be factored into our discussions.
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS - EU WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE
Firstly, the Directive guarantees that a minimum period of 11 hours
must lapse between tours of duty. Therefore, the quick change over as we know it colloquially in the current rostering system had to be addressed. The Directive also only allows
for four consecutive night tours to be worked at any one time.
The Directive ensures that after continuous tours of nights that a mandatory rest period
must be included in any Working Time Agreement and Rostering proposals which should not be confused or misunderstood to be a rest day.
The Directive specifically prohibits members from working any more than 48 hours in each period of seven days – more than an average of
48 hours and that is to say an average of 48 hours calculated over a period referred to as a reference period that does not exceed four months.
The Directive also ensures that in any given seven day period there is a free day of 24 hours which commences after the normal rest day period
(that is 11 hours after the end of the preceding tour) or that 2 x 24 hour rest periods be granted in any given 14 day period
each to be preceded by the daily rest period, if these are not consecutive or if they are consecutive the daily rest periods to proceed for the first 24 hours.
Equally, as it has already been stated following a block of night tours a minimum of 48 hours must elapse before the resumption of duty
and recovery time as has been alluded to as mandatory under the Directive.
Members will see that it was important that the Association stuck rigidly to the parameters of the Directive and to that end on the basis of any
discussions under the Working Time Agreement we were taking the position that the Garda Siochana would have to be compliant with the terms of the Directive.
FEEDBACK FROM MEMBERS
To that end, a number of other principles were set out as a result of the workshops which our Association held throughout the
Divisions. The feedback from members at those sessions was of enormous value and their contribution was greatly appreciated in endeavouring to formulate proposals which would meet the requirement of
the membership in so far as the information which we had received.
In particular, members felt that the:
- early tour should start no later than 7 a.m.
– a late tour should finish not later than 11 p.m. and
- any tours finishing after 12 midnight should be considered a night tour.
- Any roster should clearly indicate the start and finishing time of the tour of duty and what was required of the members working same.
Based on all of this information and cognisant of the task ahead the Association sought to negotiate on the basis of staying firmly within the confines of
the Directive.
MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL
Members might also be aware that Garda Management in the course of the discussions, as they were obliged to do it must be said,
presented to the Associations their proposals in respect of rostering arrangements.
The proposal as presented by Garda Management was in effect a reversal of what is known as the country roster which must not be confused with the 28 day
roster and the 14 day duty detail – rather it is a roster which effectively is known as the 2 x 2 x 2 with two nights, two lates and two earlies – simply put – that roster was reversed in order
to deal with the issue of the body clock which has been referred to earlier. The tours of duty obviously were altered to ensure that there was no quick change over.
The roster very clearly, when it was analysed and examined by the Associations’, had some significant drawbacks which we have subsequently set out to
Management by way of a critique analysis - we have very clearly indicated that the roster is unsuitable on a number of fronts. In our view, in particular, it did not comply with the European Directive in
certain respects – moreover it compressed the time off available to members and one example very simply would be where members currently on the 3 relief system finish at 2 p.m. on a Thursday in the Dublin
Metropolitan Region and are not expected to return to duty until 10 a.m. on the Monday.
The proposal from Garda Management would have had the effect of finishing night duty on Friday morning at 7 a.m. and being required to work again on Monday
morning at either 7 a.m. 8a.m. 9a.m. or 10 a.m. depending on what variable shift arrangement would apply. At a glance one could see that this system would have profound implications on
members’ time off but more importantly on the budgetary requirements of running a household in child-minding and that this was something which was clearly outlined to us by our members at the various
seminars.
It was also felt by the Association that the roster was not conducive to work life balance and that the whole concept of the variable shift arrangement had
not been properly set out and the idea and the notion that members could have their tours of duty changed - with prior notice been given before 12 midnight on the day the shift was to commence was unacceptable
and certainly did not deal with the issue of predictability. It was also the view of the Association that the roster as set out, because of the implications of the various shift arrangement, did not
deal with the issue of peak time policing and that the demands on the organisation at certain times both for the provision of a service to the public and the protection of the members on operational policing who
are expected to deal with public order incidents with ever decreasing numbers.
RESOURCES
During the course of our negotiations and discussions at the various working groups on the Working Time Agreement - one of the principal
tenets that the Association set out on any rostering proposal or any new agreement on Working Time was that the whole question of resource allocation
would have to be looked at and that clearly the system currently of specific unit allocation being regarded as the only frontline source would have to alter and change.
To that end, therefore, we have sought that District Officers throughout the country would give a breakdown of their particular demand and more importantly
of their current resource and that any proposals on rostering in particular would have to be regarded as District resources and the availability of other units to augment and supplement operational policing at a
time of most demand would have to be factored into any proposals.
It would simply be unworkable to develop a new rostering system which would cater for the needs of the operational police officers in giving them work life
balance and proper respite and rest periods, on the basis of the current four unit system.
Recognising this, the Association set out in its proposal development a draft roster which is over a period of six weeks and six units.
GRA PROPOSED ROSTER
THE ROSTER FROM THE ASSOCIATION’S PERSPECTIVE HAS THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES:-
It complies with the legal requirement which the four week roster cannot.
The overlap of shifts allows for proper briefing and handover for units.
Supply is better matched to demand at peak periods.
- It provides for half of available resources working between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. with the exception of Sundays which is not the current position.
- Two units work on early shift on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Two units work night shifts on Fridays and Saturdays
- Between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday there are three units working which is 50% of the resource compared to 25% at present.
- Between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. there are two units which provides for 33% of the resources as opposed to 25% of the resources at present an
- between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. there is one unit working which equates to one sixth of the resources compared to 25% of the resources at present.
The roster offers a work life balance and is circadian rhythm friendly.
The current roster proposal also allows for 26 work days and 16 rest days (including the two mandatory rest periods after nights).
It provides in the resting periods -
3 Mondays, 2 Tuesdays, 2 Wednesdays, 2 Thursdays, 2 Fridays, 2 Saturdays and 3 Sundays
The night tours are as set out.
The Association in presenting this draft proposal were cognisant of the suggestion for longer shifts etc. and in order not to go beyond the remit of the
Directive and to ensure that we struck a balance we included the longer tours on the night shifts and in so far as we believe we have managed that, we have balanced out the roster in such a way that it gives the
members more time to recover between tours and more family time and hopefully achieving a better working agreement than that which currently exists.
There is little doubt that in any of the independent researches being conducted the current rostering arrangements that members are working simply cannot
be sustained long term into the future. Therefore, it is important leaving aside any prerequisite under the Croke Park Deal that the Association strives to ensure that we provide members with working
proposals which are in their best interest.
ENGAGEMENT
The Strategy and Services Sub Committee of the Association which has developed this roster are to be congratulated in the very intensive work
and research which they have conducted. The proposals which they put on the table represent a starting position for engagement with our membership through seminars, regional meetings etc., so that
the members can give feedback and outline to the Association any changes or otherwise which you feel would enhance the rostering proposal which can in turn be presented to Garda Management.
The starting date for the pilot of any new roster has not yet been agreed. As already alluded to there is still a significant amount of work which
needs to be done to give effect to any proposals and it is the Association’s contention that on the basis of running a pilot that it would be a national pilot and that it would run for a period of one year
which would apply to all operational uniform members to augment and support frontline policing personnel.
P.J. Stone,
General Secretary
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