Equality and parity sought for all school secretaries

“We just want equality and parity for all our school secretaries,” said the Munster Representative for Fórsa School Secretaries branch and Watergrasshill National School secretary, Noreen O’Callaghan ahead of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) talks between Fórsa, the Department of Education, and school management bodies.

Taking place on Thursday, February 24, the talks focus on a final package of measures to improve pay and conditions for school secretaries and caretakers.

Speaking with TheAvondhu, Noreen explained that many school secretaries are forced to sign on over the summer months, do not receive the same rate of pay and do not have the same benefits such as sick pay, maternity leave and a pension when compared to secretaries employed by the Department of Education.

It is understood that school secretaries employed after 1978 are paid via an ancillary grant issued to the Board of Management, an issue that Noreen says affects many secretaries in the locality and further afield.

Currently, the majority of secretaries and caretakers are on irregular short-term contracts that do not cover summer holidays and other school breaks.

Many conditions enjoyed by teachers and departmental secretaries may not be enjoyed by secretaries who are on different contracts within the same school, creating disparity and inequality amongst co-workers and amongst those in the same job.

While some look forward to their summer holidays, many secretaries cannot enjoy the holiday during the school break due to the requirement to sign-on.

Having worked at Watergrasshill National School for 21 years now, Noreen noted that secretaries’ pay and working conditions is an ongoing issue which Fórsa has been vocal on for some time now, and this is expected to come to a head at the talks on Thursday.

“We’re not public servants, even though we work in a public building. I’m okay here (Watergrasshill NS), but I would much prefer to be paid by the Department of Education,” Noreen said.

Last September, planned oneday strikes set to take place across the county were called off with the understanding that the Department of Education were willing to engage on the matter.

Last month, talks were adjourned by WRC to facilitate time for the department to develop a fully costed operational plan and to remove the requirement to sign on.

At the time, Fórsa said the talks were adjourned as the department was not yet in a position to commit to resolving the outstanding issue of school secretaries and caretakers being required to sign on for social protection payments during school holidays.

Fórsa agreed to return to the talks on February 24 on the basis that all outstanding matters should then be clarified and finalised.

Pointing to the Fianna Fáil manifesto, Noreen notes that page 76 outlines their commitment to support school secretaries.

“Secretaries employed directly by the Department of Education can earn double or even triple that of those employed directly by schools. It is manifestly unfair that two people, doing the same job, with the same qualifications and to the same standard, should be on vastly different wages. It is even more unfair that some should be forced to sign on each summer.

“We are committed to engaging with and constructively establishing a pathway to ending this disparity as part of our steps towards a new public service pay agreement,” the manifesto reads.

Noreen says she hopes that this is something that will be followed through with.

“Secretaries will still probably have to sign on for the summer if something doesn’t radically change. We know we have a job to go back to and still we have to sign on,” Noreen said.

When asked what she hopes the outcome of the WRC talks will be, Noreen responded that she hopes it will see all secretaries on the same parity as Departmental secretaries.

“If you’re a secretary working for the Education and Training Board, you get increments, paid sick leave, maternity leave, a pension, and we’re doing the same job. Secretaries with ETB can earn double or triple than those with a 1978 contract.

“We just want equality and parity for all our secretaries. I would encourage all school secretaries to join Fórsa, because we can achieve this by working together,” Noreen said.