Improved pay and conditions for school secretaries welcomed

Cork East TD James O’Connor said he was ‘ delighted’ with the news of the endorsement by school secretaries who voted in favour of accepting the Department of Education’s offer of improved pay and conditions.

The Department of Education, school management bodies and Fórsa have been engaging on a claim relating to terms and conditions for grant-funded school secretaries under the auspices of the Work Relations Commission.

In recognition of the invaluable work carried out by school secretaries, the Department of Education put forward a suite of measures designed to improve the working conditions of school secretaries.

“I am delighted that school secretaries across the constituency of Cork East and across the country have voted over 95% in favour of the Department’s offer of improved pay and conditions,” Deputy O’Connor said.

“This positive news is a step in the right direction for school secretaries who have worked so hard over the past two years helping teachers and school principals throughout the pandemic. We have had many calls and emails to my constituency office on this matter, made representations on their behalf to the Department and I am delighted it is now resolved”.

‘FURTHER RECOGNITION’

These pay increases will be backdated to September 1st, 2021, while the terms and conditions also cater for lower-paid but longer serving secretaries to be placed higher up the salary scale.

A new contract will give the option to secretaries that they no longer need to apply to the Department of Social Protection for payment of benefits for periods when they are not working due to school holidays.

Proposals have also been made in relation to issues surrounding annual leave, maternity benefit and sick pay while an allocation of 22 days annual leave (on a pro rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern) is also proposed.

In welcoming the outcome of the recent ballot, Minister of Education Norma Foley said that resolving the issue has been a priority since her appointment and that the ballot resulted in an ‘ overwhelming endorsement’ by school secretaries of the package offered by the Department.

“Secretaries are the beating heart of school communities and I am pleased that (the) ballot will provide further recognition of the excellent work carried out by school secretaries on a daily basis,” Minister Foley said.

Under the terms of this new agreement school secretaries’ pay rates will move to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale on a pro-rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern.