Limerick gardai prepared to escalate their protest if necessary
Protest: From Friday, gardai will stop using their personal phones and cars while on duty
THE Garda Representative Association (GRA) says its members in Limerick will escalate their protest over proposed pay cuts if the Government doesn’t climb down from its current stance.
From Friday, members of the force will stop using their personal phones and cars while on duty and they will not make themselves available for overtime at certain public events.
“In relation to our job, we get paid for what we are doing and a lot of the time our goodwill goes beyond doing our job and what we are saying is that we will withdrawing that goodwill in relation to a few things that we have identified,” said Jim Carmody of the GRA in Limerick.
Two bus loads of rank-and-file gardai travelled from Limerick to the National Basketball Arena in Dublin on Monday night for a rally organised by the Frontline 24/7 Alliance, which also included nurses, prison officers and firemen.
Detective Garda Carmody, who is based at Henry Street garda station, says members of the force simply can’t take any more cuts in their pay.
“Sixty per cent of the force in Limerick has under ten years service, so any cuts to their pay will be detrimental because, even as it stands, paying their mortgages is very difficult and any further cuts will be drastic to their lifestyles,” he said.
Det Garda Carmody says members of the Gardai have taken pay cuts of up to 21% over the last two-and-half years. “What we’re saying is we have done our bit, there are other ways that we can have cost-saving measures without an impact on pay. We have to protect our pay and our allowances and our working conditions,” he said,
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Sunday 26 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 8 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: West
