Why I’m on the side of school secretaries and caretakers in dispute with government

Whether or not it’s stepped up to the plate by now and done the decent thing for school secretaries and caretakers, the fact that this strike even had to take place says a lot of things about the Irish government.

None of them laudatory.

But you could use just one word for all of those things.

Optics.

Our politicians are obsessed by optics.

These lads had no problem approving a mind-boggling €9 million of taxpayers’ dosh for mobile phone storage ‘solutions” in second-level schools.

They were only too delighted to approve a free school textbook scheme, paid for by the taxpayer and estimated to cost €170 million for the 2025 school year, to cover the cost of something most parents always paid anyway.

I’m not going to go into the pros and cons of this scheme or of the free hot dinners scheme either – these programmes are a Godsend for many hard-pressed families - but the dogs in the street know that there’s also a very significant number of well-heeled couples out there who are more than able to shell out for textbooks and dinners.

Yet, when it comes to giving school secretaries and caretakers a pension to take them into old age, optics doesn’t seem to be an issue for the government at all.

Maybe because this group, which is not highly paid, constitutes a relatively small number in the Department of Education’s gargantuan personnel files.

Sure, what’s 2,600 secretaries and caretakers across Ireland’s sprawling network of primary and second-level schools?

Funny thing, though, what officialdom seems to forget, is that these people are the lynch-pins of every school.

And staff and parents know it.

The dogs in the street know it.

School principals, teachers, Special Needs Assistants and other education staff are, obviously, crucial to the education system, but it’s the secretaries and the caretakers who keep the lights on and all the parts moving.

The Department of Education and the government just don’t seem to realise that people know this and that, as a result, there’s a lot of public support for this strike.

If you’re of a certain rigid and narrow perspective, all you might see are secretaries and caretakers standing in solitary isolation or else in tiny bunches outside school gates, protesting the government’s failure to admit them into the public service pension scheme.

The government might consider this strike by 2,600 people to be no more than a ripple across the rockpool of Irish education, but in reality there’s a whole lot of activity going on beneath the surface.

This is a group that has the capacity to trigger the kind of underground earthquake that results in a tsunami of public outrage.

Because they’re being treated unfairly. They’re being blatantly discriminated against. They are not highly paid. Nor are they asking for much.

And everyone knows it.

The trade union, Fórsa, has described the department’s stance as a deliberate and indefensible exclusion of school secretaries and caretakers from the public service pension scheme and other basic entitlements.

The State is refusing to give them the same employment conditions as their colleagues, thus locking out generations of school staff from secure income in retirement.

These people work hard, and believe me (and this is something the politicians should forget at their peril), THEY KNOW EVERYBODY.

They are ordinary women and men; mums, dads, grannies and grandads and neighbours, to name but a few.

They don’t actually want to be outside the school gates, picketing. They don’t like doing it. They feel lonely and isolated and bitter at having to be out there at all.

But they’re angry and under-estimated, and they’re out there.

If the government hasn’t sorted things out by the time you read this, be there for them at the school gate!

Walk with them.

Stand in solidarity with them.

Because here’s an overview of what, for example, your school secretary does for your school and your children. I’ll put it under two headings.

Administration

Answering phones, taking queries, paying bills, ordering supplies, doing accounts, running the online payment system input so that substitutes and other ancillary staff get paid.

Secretaries input children’s details on the central data system for the department, make sure all pupils have transferred properly into the school and their classes and that the crucial numbers are right by September 30 – because these are the numbers the department goes by when determining teacher allocation for the following year.

They distribute admission forms and ensure parents and pupils have the necessary information to navigate the school community.

They update parents on extra-curricular activities and stay abreast of everything caught in the sprawling tentacles of GDPR.

Care

The secretary is the public face of the school. They are the first port of call for all parents, pupils and other visitors to the school.

The secretary must be approachable and kind, and, in the multi-cultural and very diverse school environments of today, have the social skills required to put people of all nationalities and backgrounds at ease.

No query or request is too big or too small, and there’s no end to the daily roll call of a secretary’s many small but crucial care duties.

Secretaries find misplaced jumpers, jackets and school-bags. Many keep a secret stash of plain biscuits and crackers for the little one who forgets a lunch, if commuting at-work parents can’t make it back into the school.

They’re always ready with a listening and very sympathetic ear and a handful of tissues, a packet of plasters, anti-bacterial wipes and ice-packs - even when there’s no injury and no blood.

But, as one experienced school secretary once confided to me, a plaster and an ice-pack solve a multitude.

In the event of an accident or incident in the yard, it’s often the secretary who contacts the parents or grandparents, and provides the information briskly and calmly to avoid panic.

So, get out there and show your support this week - if you haven’t already done it .

And if this strike has been resolved by the time you read this, remember to appreciate and respect the crucial work carried out by your school secretary and caretaker!