NEXT WEEK’S MAJOR European Union-led event in Dublin, dubbed the largest diplomatic event in Irish history, will face significant disruption as thousands of civil servants plan to strike, sources have said.

The European Political Community (EPC) Summit will take place in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November. 

A second major summit, a meeting solely of EU leaders happens on Friday.

There will be approximately 50 heads of state on Thursday from across the bloc and elsewhere flying into Dublin Airport and Baldonnel Aerodrome to attend the EPC summit. 

Indicating the scale of the event, the volume of aircraft from visiting leaders will be such that the planes will leave Dublin and park in Shannon Airport.

The meeting is planned for the Convention Centre in Dublin city centre and while rank-and-file gardaí are set to take a work to rule action in a dispute with their management for the day of the summit (as well as the day either side), the civil service, en masse, will be striking. 

Sources across the civil service and unions have said that the plan is that the strike action will be undertaken without widespread derogations.

In other words, there will be very few staff members who will continue to work because of the importance of their role – they will all be on strike. 

Derogations are normally given for particularly critical jobs, such as vital roles within the health service, but during this planned strike there will be limited use of the measure, union sources said. 

All hands on deck

The EU-led meeting will require a massive garda and military operation. It is understood that it also needs numerous civil service workers to be staged effectively.  

Sources have said that there are plans in train to bring staff from across the State’s departments and agencies to Dublin to man welcome desks, act as liaison officers for visiting delegations and even to act as security guards within buildings being used for the summit and supporting events. This was a matter of course. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs has hired more than 100 temporary staff to work in its EU Presidency section on six-month contracts – many of them have joined a union, it’s understood. 

It is understood emails have been circulated across the country to civil servants in locations such as garda stations, county council offices and other institutions to ask them to come to Dublin to work at the event. Sources have said that this correspondence has not been responded to by officials. 

Strikers at a previous protest. Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

One senior civil service manager source said their efforts to find non-union members who may be available to work on the day are hampered by rules on employers’ interactions with union employees.

“It is illegal to ask colleagues are they members of a union, so ultimately they can’t find out who is not union and who will be available on the day,” a source said. 

World leaders will be flown into Baldonnel airfield in south county Dublin – however it’s feared there may be issues for support staff from the various nations travelling to the event. Passport control and other functions at Dublin Airport may be impacted by the 12 November strike, and it is feared that would shut down the main route into Ireland for people coming for the conference. Derogations last time around meant airport operations were not significantly affected. 

There has been speculation that the date was specifically chosen by the unions to maximise the impact on the government and to push Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers into a settlement. Union leaders have denied this. 

Sources within unions have said that there will be local pickets on the day should the strike go ahead, but that the main focus of the day will be a major protest march in Dublin city.

Civil servants protesting in Cork on 14 October. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Garda dispute

Separately the Garda Representative Association (GRA) are due to meet Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly on Wednesday in a last-gasp effort to avert the work-to-rule action.

There are predicted to be a number of impacts during the EU Presidency on the operational work of gardaí during the extraordinary event. The police have been told not to charge suspects to appear in court on days around the summit, workplace transfers have been deferred, and all leave has been cancelled. This is because almost of the garda force will be engaged in EU business. 

It is understood that preparations for the security operations around the summit are advancing. Sources have said that risk assessments have identified several possible security weaknesses. 

Fórsa, the country’s largest public service union, said in a statement that the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions believes the government has yet to make a credible offer to resolve the current dispute.

“Preparations are now underway for a 24-hour work stoppage on Thursday, 12 November. A rally in Dublin, alongside regional rallies, will mark the strike action and bring members together in support of a resolution.

“Unions will also discuss intensifying the current work-to-rule action and further industrial action beyond 12 November, as arrangements for the rallies continue.

“The committee’s focus remains on securing a credible offer through discussions. In the meantime, preparations for the stoppage and rallies will proceed, alongside consideration of the next steps in the industrial campaign,” a statement said. 

Tánaiste Simon Harris, who is also minister for finance, said the next few days are a “window of opportunity” to reach a deal with workers and that he was hopeful of a resolution.