Further talks regarding school secretaries pay and conditions are scheduled at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in early December. In the meantime, Fórsa has advised members that no progress has yet been made, and that the distance between the parties remains significant.

In an update to members of Forsa’s School Secretaries branch last week, the union’s head of education Andy Pike said: “We have to report that no progress has yet been made and the distance between the parties is significant. Your representatives continue to argue that grant funded school secretaries should be employed with the same terms and conditions as their colleagues in the ETB sector.”

The talks involve Fórsa, the Department of Education and Skills, and school management bodies.

Fórsa has agreed to keep the content of the discussions confidential, and Andy said the union was not in a position to disclose any details at this stage. An update will be issued following the next round of discussions.