Nearly 3,000 School Secretaries who opted to accept the new Fórsa Pay Agreement will receive outstanding backpay next week, on 23rd November.

Outstanding arrears of salary will be paid to members through the Department of Education payroll system. The backpay arises as a direct consequence of the backdating of the Pay Agreement to September 2021. Secretaries will be paid for the increases in public sector pay rates since that date and will also receive arrears due for incremental progression.

This will complete a complex assimilation process involving thousands of individual salary calculations required to implement this ground-breaking Pay Agreement. The benefits provided to members range between 17% and 31% depending on years of service, with the biggest pay increases benefitting the lower paid Secretaries previously in receipt of the minimum rate of €13 per hour.

Fórsa Head of Education Andy Pike said “We are very pleased to have secured payment of the backpay for our members who have waited a long time to receive the full benefits of the Agreement. This brings to an end the implementation phase as members are now paid on the correct public service scale by the Department of Education.”

“The move to central payroll provides greater protection and security for School Secretaries and minimises risks to working hours and salary deductions by Boards of Management. As we approach the holiday period, we should also note that no School Secretary will be forced to sign-on over the Christmas holidays as a consequence of the gains made under the new Agreement, which ensures Secretaries can be paid for 52 weeks of the year.”

Fórsa will be in contact with members in the New Year to discuss the next steps in the campaign for full public service status.