Striking school secretaries and caretakers hold protest outside Taoiseach’s Cork office

The dispute hinges on the fact that school secretaries and caretakers are not entitled to public service pensions and other entitlements, but rather, when they retire, must rely on a State pension.
Striking school secretaries and caretakers hold protest outside Taoiseach’s Cork office

Phillis Healy, Gretta Lynch, Siobhan Lawlor, Ken Jordan, and Harry Mooney protesting at Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s constituencey office in Turner’s Cross. Pictures: Noel Sweeney

Up to 300 striking school secretaries and caretakers gathered outside Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s Turner’s Cross constituency office today, demanding he intervene in their industrial dispute with the Department of Education.

Some 2,600 members of the Fórsa union across the country began an indefinite strike on Thursday, calling for school staff to be included in the public service pension scheme and other entitlements.

Their industrial action comes as thousands of schools return for the start of the new academic year.

Last-minute talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) between Fórsa and the Department of Education broke down on Wednesday evening without resolution.

The dispute hinges on the fact that school secretaries and caretakers are not entitled to public service pensions and other entitlements, but rather, when they retire, must rely on a State pension.

Campaign

After a union-led campaign several years ago, secretaries in most schools were put on the public payroll in 2022, meaning they no longer had to receive social welfare during the summer holidays, and became entitled to sick pay and maternity leave.

Although they are now being paid directly by the department, most are still not classified as public servants.

Noreen O’Callaghan, who is a school secretary at Watergrasshill National School, said the picket of Mr Martin’s constituency office had begun shortly before 8am today.

Simultaneous rallies were held outside Tánaiste Simon Harris’s constituency office in Bray, and at the Department of Education, while pickets were mounted outside schools across the country.

When Ms O’Callaghan, who is Fórsa national branch secretary for school secretaries, spoke with The Echo, she had to raise her voice on several occasions to be heard over the beeping of passing cars.

“The support of the public has been brilliant, it’s great to see such solidarity from the public,” she said.

“The school we’re picketing, Bunscoil Chríost Rí, which is just down the road from Micheál Martin’s office, came out and did a little chant for us, ‘Strike, strike, strike, now, now, now’, and they were just brilliant.

“That really gave us a great lift, and we have the facilities of the school to use, what an amazing principal and staff of that school to allow us that, and there was a lovely note from the parents’ association pinned to the gate, supporting us.”

Intervene

Ms O’Callaghan said the striking workers were calling on Mr Martin to intervene directly in the strike.

“Get the department officials back to talk to Fórsa in the WRC, and this time come back with a good offer,” she said. “We’re sick of hearing platitudes, we’re sick of hearing that we are brilliant and all that."

  Victoria Luke, school secretary from St Mary's School in Rochestown, and Noreen O'Callaghan, Watergrasshill NS and secretary of the school branch of Fórsa, who formed part of the protest that marched from Nano Nagle school in Turners Cross to An Taoiseach's constituency office.  
  Victoria Luke, school secretary from St Mary's School in Rochestown, and Noreen O'Callaghan, Watergrasshill NS and secretary of the school branch of Fórsa, who formed part of the protest that marched from Nano Nagle school in Turners Cross to An Taoiseach's constituency office.  

“I don’t want to retire without an occupational pension, I feel that this is something that secretaries and caretakers should be getting and paying into for ourselves.

“We’re employed by the boards of management, paid by the department, just like our colleagues, and we have secretaries and caretakers on ETBs [education and training boards] who have public pension status, and that’s what we want — equality.

“We’re doing the same job, and we’re not being recognised.”

Dave O’Donoghue, a school caretaker from Scoil na Croise Naofa in Mahon, said he has been in the job for the past 17 years.

Support

He said the support from passing motorists meant a lot to those on the picket.

“We weren’t expecting this, we’re getting support from all walks of life, and people are being so decent and kind,” he said.

“We’re outside An Taoiseach’s office and we’ve been walking up and down, and the kids inside in the school came out into the yard and they were even getting involved in our chants.

“We’re hoping Mr Martin will intervene, because our demands are not hard.

“We want public service pay for what we believe we do, which is public service work.”

Protesters hold up signs outside An Taoiseach Micheál Martin's constituency office in Turners Cross. Picture: Noel Sweeney.
Protesters hold up signs outside An Taoiseach Micheál Martin's constituency office in Turners Cross. Picture: Noel Sweeney.

On Thursday afternoon, around 2,500 Fórsa members picketed the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on Dublin’s Merrion St, with many carrying placards saying: “I’m worth more than a box of chocolates.”

Mr O’Donoghue said the slogan summed up the situation in a nutshell.

“We have secretaries and caretakers who have given up their whole working lives, 30, 40 years, and they might get a box of chocolates at the end, and they might get a round of applause, and that’s it,” he said.

“But we work closely with colleagues every day — principals, teachers, SNAs [special needs assistants] — who have their pensions, who have their bereavement leave, who have their critical illness leave, and they’re perfectly entitled to it, but we’re surely entitled to the same.

“We just want equality.”

Unbelievable 

Tim Mangan, a school caretaker from Moyderwell Mercy Primary School in Tralee, described as “unbelievable” the turnout at the picket in Turner’s Cross.

“School secretaries and caretakers haven’t been looked after for the last number of years, and we feel that it’s time for us to get parity with our colleagues, to get sick leave and bereavement leave,” he said.

“We didn’t want to go on strike, but we are prepared to stay out until we get what we want.”

Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, said that without school secretaries and caretakers, schools would grind to a halt.

“To be honest, they’ve been shown serious disrespect down through the years, that seems to be continuing,” he said.

“I fully support their campaign in taking this strike action, and in seeking decent pensions so that they can stay in their jobs and have decent pensions for the rest of their lives.

“I think the Taoiseach does need to get directly involved.

“I think it’s far too hands-off by the Government, putting everything into the WRC; clearly there’s a need for the Taoiseach to get directly involved."

Sympathetic

Mr Ó Laoghaire said that he had spoken privately with Government TDs and that they were “very sympathetic” to the demands of the school secretaries and caretakers.

“That’s because their claim is so reasonable, and because Government TDs understand the importance of their role,” he said.

“So what we need now is the Government to recognise publicly with their demands and give them a decent pension, because it’s the very least that they deserve.”

Mr Martin was asked for comment.

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