Fórsa is hopeful that a final package of measures for school secretaries and caretakers can be put to a ballot after a further hearing in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) next Wednesday (26th January).

Last September the education department finally conceded that all school secretaries should be placed on the public service clerical officer scale, and to do away with the requirement for most secretaries to sign on during school breaks, as they would be able to retain existing work patterns while having their salaries paid over 52 weeks on a pro-rata basis.

Those concessions will bring an end to a four-decade old two-tier pay system, and deferred a planned national one-day strike by school secretaries and caretakers. Since then, discussions have focused on finalising the assimilation arrangements for transferring staff to new scales.

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike said he is hopeful that next week’s meeting can bring matters to a conclusion. “The key objective now is to assemble a final package of measures that can be put to a vote of our members,” he said.