Tipperary’s Garda Representative Association spokesperson says they have been vindicated in their opposition to the roster planned by Commissioner Drew Harris.
Richard Kennedy says an internal report backs what they’ve been saying for months.
A confidential internal Garda report from 2019 found that the new roster the Garda Commissioner plans to introduce isn’t fit for purpose.
It will see Gardaí work six days in a row, instead of four.
Garda Kennedy told Tipp Today earlier that they’ve been saying all along that it won’t work.
“We’ve been banging the drum for the last number of months on this roster issue and the Roster Reform Project Report which was commissioned by the Commissioner in June 2019 stated that the 6 and 4 roster which he wishes us to return to in November isn’t fit for purpose. We’ve been saying that continuously over the last few months and I suppose it vindicates our position that we’ve been taking on the roster.”
The GRA say they will gladly meeting meet with the Commissioner to discuss the roster situation.
Garda Kennedy says the proposed roster is extremely complicated.
“We all have an App on our phone to tell us what shift we’re working, its that complicated. It’s six days on, four days off – in which you work six ten hour shifts so we work 60 hours in your working week.
“Every employee, no matter if you’re a Garda or someone working in a shop or any other industry – there’s European laws in place in terms of rest periods you can have between shifts and weekly rest that you should have. Because of the structure of that roster to get those adequate rest periods between shifts and between weeks of work, the movement in it is very limited.”
