Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney has pledged his support for school secretaries and caretakers set to begin indefinite strike action next Thursday, following representations from Fórsa union members in the county.
Fórsa, which represents more than 2,800 school secretaries and caretakers nationwide, is seeking parity with teachers and SNAs, including access to public service pensions. 98 per cent of the union’s members nationwide backed strike action in a ballot.
In his correspondence to Clare secretaries and caretakers, Deputy Cooney acknowledged the “vital and important” role played by the secretarial and caretaking staff in the running of schools and warned that the disruption caused by strike action “should not be underestimated.”
He said progress had been made in 2022 when school secretaries were brought onto a centralised departmental payroll, aligned with national pay agreements and given improved entitlements. But he noted that the agreement did not extend to public service status or access to the State pension scheme, and that caretakers remained outside the arrangement.
“I wholly agree that this is an issue that the Departments of Public Expenditure and Education need to go back to the table to discuss with those involved and their employer representatives,” he said, adding that he had raised the matter with Minister Helen McEntee and understood that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was involved in efforts to resolve the dispute.
Mr Cooney said he would continue to press for a settlement that recognised “the invaluable work secretaries and caretakers carry out” and urged a resolution to avoid disruption to schools at the start of the new term.