Up to one hundred secretaries and caretakers from Tipperary schools are scheduled to go on strike.
This will affect 70 schools in the county and the Forsa union states that they are receiving a steady stream of sign-ups from members and these numbers are expected to rise.
School secretaries and caretakers represented by Fórsa will begin indefinite strike action from Thursday, August 28, in protest at their exclusion from public service pensions and basic entitlements.
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The Tipperary school staff on strike will join thousands more at a rally to assemble at the Department of Public Expenditure, Merrion Street on Thursday 28th August 28 at 11am.
More than 2,600 workers nationwide are involved, following a 98% vote in favour of strike action. Approximately 2,000 schools nationwide will be affected by the strike action.
It marks the escalation of efforts by Fórsa to end what it describes as the deliberate and indefensible exclusion of school secretaries and caretakers from access to a public service pension and terms of employment.
Andy Pike, Fórsa’s Head of Education said “Our members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action because they believe in pension equality. These are dedicated professionals who are essential to the smooth running of our schools. They deserve the same pension rights as their public service colleagues.”
“We’re going to make our voices heard loud and clear at the outset of this industrial action, right where the decisions about funding public service are made,” he said concerning the rally to take place in Dublin.
Tipperary TD Michael Murphy said school secretaries and caretakers carry out vital work in schools, supporting teachers, pupils, and parents.
“I’m concerned by the prospect of strike action and the disruption that it could cause schools here and across the country.
I believe, however, that the previous work on reaching an agreement on other issues provides hope that the outstanding issues could be resolved, and the strike action averted,” he said.
Deputy Murphy said he understood that understand, that pension provision was not part of a previous agreement..
“The agreement did not grant public servant status and therefore school secretaries do not have access to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme. This is an issue which the Department of Public Expenditure as well as the Department of Education and Youth need to look at, in conjunction with employer reps.
From raising this matter with my colleague, Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee, I’m aware that the services of the Workplace Relations Commission have been sought. I hope with the assistance of the WRC this dispute can be settled in a way that recognises the work the secretaries and caretakers carry out,” he said.
PENSION PARITY
Cllr Annemarie Ryan has reiterated her calls for school secretaries and caretakers in Tipperary to have access to the public service pension scheme, branding their exclusion from the scheme as unfair and unjust.
She stated that these workers have her full support as industrial action looms.
“As I have highlighted in previous statements secretaries and caretakers deserve the same public sector worker status as the teachers and SNAs they work alongside every day; they deserve pension parity,” said Cllr Ryan.
Cllr Ryan called on the Minister for Education to step in immediately and negotiate an agreement with FORSA Trade Union to ensure that our vital school secretaries and caretakers can come back to school with a fair pay and pension agreement.
Cllr David Dunne of the Carrick On Suir LEA added “no worker wants to be forced to take strike action outside their workplace and added that school secretaries and caretakers are not asking for a lot, they are simply asking for equality in their pension status and equal access to sick leave and bereavement leave.”
He stated that Sinn Fein had been informed by Fórsa that there has been little contact made with them by the Minister or her Department seeking to resolve this dispute.
The Government, he said, needed to stop with empty words of sympathy for these workers plight and take action to negotiate a resolution to this saga.
DISCRIMINATION
Deputy Alan Kelly said it was appalling the manner in which caretakers and secretaries across Tipperary are being treated by this Government.
“The fact that they have to resort to ongoing strike action from this week demonstrates the fact that they continue to be discriminated against.
This is deliberate by the Government. These workers who give there all to the schools they work in have no access to public service pension provision or public sector terms of employment. Put simply when a caretaker walks out the door after decades of work they might be given a bottle of whiskey rather than a proper pension. Similarly a school secretary might get a bunch of flowers rather than a pension. This is discrimination.
It’s discrimination also when they have no access to employment terms and are dependent on the goodwill of the board of management for taking leave. This isn’t acceptable.
I know school secretaries and caretakers the length and breadth of Tipperary that do fantastic work. Effectively they keep the schools open and operating. They are indispensable. This week everyone will see the difference when they are not there. Schools will be disrupted and they simply won’t function to the same level.
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The Government can sort this out easily. This will not cost a huge amount of money. They need to end the discrimination and pay these workers their entitlements and pensions. I’m calling on everyone to come out and support them this week and for as long as it takes” said Deputy Kelly.
