AGSI accuses Government of circulating misinformation amid talks to resolve Garda dispute
The AGSI is accusing the Government of circulating misinformation during their discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission.
Contingency plans are being prepared as talks between the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and the Department of Justice continue.
The Garda Representative Association is set to meet officials from the Justice Department later today.
More than 12,000 Gardai are to take industrial action on Friday.
Security Analyst Declan Power says every effort will be made to reach a compromise in time.
Mr Power said: "It's not in the Gardaí's interests in the long term, I think they know that.
"This is about leverage. The Gardaí are the only institution in the state that don't have access to the same industrial relations apparatus."
Labour Senator Ivana Bacik told Newstalk that trust for the Gardaí will "erode" if the strike action goes ahead.
A report in yesterday's Sunday Independent claims management are considering threatening officers with disciplinary action if they refuse to work.
The Tánaiste insisted earlier this week that the Lansdowne Road pay deal cannot be abandoned in efforts to avoid the strike.
Frances Fitzgerald told the Dáil that Government cannot let the “admiration and respect” it has for the work of the Gardaí “blind us to the consequences” of settling the dispute outside the public service pay policy.
“The reality of any negotiation is that both sides do not get everything they want but we must continue in the coming days to work with great intensity – which we will – to map a way forward,” she said.
“There is no point in pretending that the planned action, if it goes ahead, will not constitute a very significant challenge to this country.”
She said the deal on the table from the Government includes “very significant benefits” - including the restoration of rent allowance worth over €4,000 to new recruits.
