Dear members,

Good news today, the fourth day of your strike, over 40 government representatives have signed the pledge calling for pension parity for school secretaries and caretakers. You have made this happen. 

By picketing outside your schools and showing up outside politicians’ offices you have made this campaign impossible to ignore.

You can read the list of Ministers, TDs, Senators and MEPs  from government parties who support us here. If they’re in your constituency be sure to thank them for supporting us. If your local government TD isn’t on the list, keep contacting them to make sure they know how strongly their constituents feel. We’ll keep updating the list, and tomorrow we’ll include opposition reps on it too.

The campaign this week has already been phenomenal. The length and breadth of this country you are on the picket line calling for fairness and equality in our schools. On the airwaves and online our message is coming across loud and clear: we want pension parity now and public servant status for all workers in schools.

We know it isn’t easy to keep showing up to picket and staying away from the work you love, but we also know we can win this together. 

The support behind you is growing every day. Over 10,000 more people have signed the pledge since the strike began last week, bringing the total signatures to close to 40,000. So, keep going, keep sending us in your photos, and keep talking to your community and public representatives to build support for the campaign.

Tomorrow we will picket again. You will continue to receive updates on strike actions from Seamus Ryan and if you have any issues on which you need guidance, please don’t hesitate to email educationstrike@forsa.ie

Yours,

Andy Pike
Head of Education