Agenda
- Vice-President’s Welcome, Antoinette Cunningham
- Lansdowne Road Agreement Ballot, John Jacob, Deputy General Secretary
- Rosters Update, Rory Brennan, National Executive
- Current Issues, John Jacob, Deputy General Secretary
- Lobbying Legislation, Ernie White, National Executive
- AGSI.ie Website, Joanne Sweeney-Burke
- Wellbeing & Mindfulness, Stephen Dalton
- Transformation Agenda, Chief Supt. Aidan Glacken
- Closing Remarks, Vice-President, Antoinette Cunningham
Autumn Seminar Overview
Message from Vice-President
Antoinette Cunningham welcomed delegates to the 2015 ASGI Autumn Seminar which was held in the Sheraton Hotel on Monday 19th October. Antoinette first outlined that she was deputising for President Tim Galvin who was on holidays. She also took the opportunity to pay tribute to out-going General Secretary John Redmond who was also absent from the event.
“John Redmond has been an outstanding leader and demonstrated particular skills during the Haddington Road Agreement negotiations. He will be a huge loss to AGSI. On behalf of the AGSI, I would like to wish John well in his new role in the private sector.”
Antoinette then paid tribute to retiring Vice-President Willie Gleeson who was also on holidays and not in attendance. Willie retires on November 21st from An Garda Siochana and like John will take up a position in the private sector.
“Willie is the longest serving member of the AGSI National Executive and with his retirement leaves a great gap in knowledge and experience.”
Lansdowne Road Agreement Ballot
John Jacob, Deputy General Secretary
Ballot Results
- Total Electorate: 1,947
- Total Valid Poll: 1,084 (55.7%)
- Yes: 514 (47.4%)
- No: 570 (52.6%)
- Spoiled Votes: 40
Other Unions Reject Lansdowne Road Agreement
- AGSI are not the only union to reject the Lansdowne Road Agreement
- UNITE, ASTI and TUI similarly rejected agreement saying agreement did not go far enough
- Public Service Committee of ICTU advised DPER that ICTU accepted agreement because the majority of unions have accepted; e.g.IMPACT, SIPTU INMO, CPSU, INTO
What Next For AGSI?
- AGSI have already notified the Department of Justice of our decision
- We will be notifying the LRC this week
- We will make ourselves available to enter into discussions in relation to our difficulties which we see as dissatisfaction with:
- The rate of restoration of pay – too little on offer
- The requirement to work the additional 30 hours
Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015
Section 4 amends the FEMPI Act 2013 to extend the suspension of the operation of incremental pay scales with respect to public servants who are NOT ENCOMPASSED BY A REGISTERED COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT as referred to in Section 7 of that Act (Haddington Road Agreement) – (Relating to pay restoration)
Section 10 amends the FEMPI Act 2009 so that the pay of public servants may be adjusted to reflect the terms of a collective agreement (HRA) registered in accordance wit Section 7 of that Act of the FEMPI Act 2013 – (Relating to Pension Related Deductions (PRD)
Where do we stand vis-à-vis negotiations?
- What negotiating leverage does AGSI have?
- What appetite is there for Government to do business with AGSI or other unions that have rejected the agreement?
- Wrong to speculate – we are in unchartered waters. Rumours are just that.
- When we know something we will inform our membership.
Budget Highlights
|
Tax Rates |
2015 |
2016 |
| Standard tax rate |
20% |
20% |
|
Higher tax rate |
40% |
40% |
|
Standard Rate band |
||
|
Single/Widowed |
€33,800 |
€33,800 |
|
Married Couple one income |
€42,800 |
€42,800 |
|
Married Couple two incomes |
€67,600 |
€67,600 |
|
One Parent Family |
€37,800 |
37,800 |
| USC Changes | |||
|
2015 |
2016 |
||
|
First €12,012 |
1.5% |
First 12,012 |
1% |
|
Next €5,564 (€12,012 – €17,576) |
3.5% |
Next €6,656 |
3% |
|
Next €52,468 (€17,576 – €70,044) |
7% |
Next €51,376 |
5.5% |
|
Balance over €70,044 |
8% |
Balance over €70,044 |
8% |
|
Relevant income >€100,000 |
11% |
Relevant income >€100,000 |
11% |
Personal Scenarios 2016
Single person earning €45,000 & a property owner
|
2016 Changes |
Euro |
|
Change in Tax Band |
0 |
|
Change in Tax Credits |
0 |
|
Change in PRSI |
0 |
|
Change in Universal Social Change |
527 |
|
Change in Marginal Income Tax Rate |
0 |
|
Net Saving |
€527 |
Married Couple, one employed, earning €50,000, three children, property owner
|
2016 Changes |
Euro |
|
Change in Tax Band |
0 |
|
Change in Tax Credits |
190 |
|
Change in PRSI |
0 |
|
Change in Universal Social Change |
602 |
|
Change in Marginal Income Tax Rate |
0 |
|
Change in Child Benefit |
180 |
|
Net Saving |
€972 |
Rosters Update
Rory Brennan, National Executive
Rory Brennan advised members that there was no current update on the pilot roster as three previous meetings in July, August and September had been postponed by Garda management. He said despite the roster ongoing for three and a half years no extension to the roster had even been sought.
Rory outlined that the issue with progressing the roster from Management’s perspective is Section 22 of the Garda Siochana Act 2015 in which oversight of the roster will move to an independent person.
The National Executive has written to Aoibheann O’Suilleabhain from the Workplace Relations Commission (formerly Labour Relations Commission) outlining our deep concerns at the lack of engagement and progress made on the roster.
Current Issues
John Jacob, Deputy General Secretary
Conference Motions Update
Changes Ahead
- Release 6.8
- Supervision of investigation
- Victim Charter
- Freedom of Information
- New Incident Capture Process District and Sub-District stations
- Dispute Resolution and Engagement Protocols for Staff Associations
Release 6.8; Supervision of Investigation
- AGSI fought to prevent its implementation without consultation
- Significant influence on policy and training
- More work for Sergeants
- Must avoid the trap of being prescriptive when assigning tasks
- Should use tasking only for probationer Gardaí
- Should provide high level instruction to experienced Gardaí
- Should use PAF meetings to highlight to Superintendent where Gardaí are failing to submit files in line with instructions
- Late engagement with Staff Associations
- More supervision for Sergeants
- Most work appears to be falling on Gardaí who are attending incidents
Freedom of Information – Impact on Sergeants & Inspectors
- Commencing 14 October 2015
- Retrospective to 2008
- Responses to requests within 20 working days
- Garda website to support process
- 1 day basic training for Regional, Divisional & District Clerks
- Local HR, Finance & Procurement will only be referred down to Regional Divisional & District offices i.e The cost of policing The electric Picnic.
- Matters relating to how many Gardaí were on duty on a Saturday night is an operational policing matter and will not be answered.
Pay Restoration
|
When |
Band |
Increase |
|
1 January 2016 |
Up to €24,000 |
2.5% |
|
1 January 2016 |
Over €24,000 but not
Over €31,000 |
1% |
|
1 September 2017 |
Basic Salary not over €65,000 |
€1,000 |
Exemption threshold for Pension Related Deductions (PRD) will increase as follows:
|
Year |
Band |
Rate of Deduction |
|
2015 |
€15,000 – €17,000 |
EXEMPT |
|
1 January 2015 |
up to €26,000 |
Exempt |
|
Over €26,000 but not over €60,000 |
10% |
|
|
Over €60,000 |
10.5% |
|
|
2017 |
€18,750 |
Exempt |
|
Over €28,750 but not over €60,000 |
10% |
|
|
Over €60,000 |
10.5% |
Lobbying Legislation
Ernie White, National Executive
Ernie White updated members on the new lobbying legislation. Please download our briefing document on the new legislation which members should be aware of. It is important that members inform Head Office of any political meetings or representations they have from hereonin as it will have to be documented on the online reporting system. If you are unsure about this legislation please don’t hesitate to contact your National Executive representative or Head Office.
Download briefing document here: Regulation of Lobbying Act – Briefing Document
Members Issues
Members attending the 2015 Autumn Seminar were very vocal on a number of key issues.
Lansdowne Road Agreement: Need to negotiate for better terms for Sergeants and Inspectors
Roster: Frustration is growing at the lack of engagement from Garda management and the fact that the Roster hasn’t even been reviewed.
Communications: Need for greater communication from AGSI National Executive and better use of the media to highlight members’ issues.
The National Executive has met twice since the Autumn Seminar and all of the issues raised are being addressed. We would like to thank members for their contribution on the day and as always ask you to contact your AGSI Branch representative or call Head Office any time with any issues or concerns.
AGSI.ie Website
Joanne Sweeney-Burke
Joanne outlined that the National Executive tasked her last month to build a new website for the Association. Joanne outlined that technology has moved significantly since the existing site was launched three years ago.
The new site will be:
- Fully mobile responsive so that if you log onto agsi.ie on a desktop computer, a tablet or iPAD or a smartphone the design of the website will alter to suit the device you are using.
- Include a Members Forum where issues of interest to members can be discussed privately.
- Simple login procedure
- Content updated regularly under 15 news categories
- Easy referenced archive of news alerts from national executive
- Useful links including links to current legislation
- News from the Branches (so members are encouraged to share news frequently for publication on the site)
The new site is now live. All members who are currently members of the existing site will automatically be members of the new website and can retain their existing login details. If you have any issues or have any feedback please email joanne@digitaltraining.ie or info@agsi.ie.
Transformation Agenda
Chief Supt. Aidan Glacken
A discussion on the Transformation Agenda within an Garda Siochana took place during the presentation from Chief Supt. Aidan Glacken. Members felt that the change agenda was welcome but the level of consultation with members in the AGSI who, in many instances, will implement such reforms was limited and in some cases non-existent.
Wellbeing & Mindfulness
Stephen Dalton
Download Stephen Dalton’s presentation on ‘Mindfulness and Stress Management’ here: Stephen Dalton
