Secretaries to fight on for fair conditions

The secretaries from schools in New Ross, and as far away as Taghmon, received support from the public as they protested over the department's refusal to address a two-tier pay system that leaves most earning just €12,500 a year, with irregular, short-term contracts that force them to sign on during the summer holidays and other school breaks.

The secretaries, who are on the front-line of school life, are also deprived pension entitlements. Their union Fórsa announced last Monday that the workers involved had backed industrial action by a margin of 94 per cent to 6 per cent in a national ballot conducted over the summer. The turnout was 68 per cent.

Fórsa went to ballot after talks broke down earlier in the summer. The action commenced from Friday, when school secretaries engaged in a short work stoppage at the start of the school day. Thereafter they will commence a significant work to rule.

This action will withdraw school secretaries from work on public service systems and databases on the basis that if they are not paid or recognised as public servants. They will also refuse to carry out the functions of public servants. The action is expected to cause significant disruption to the administration of the schools sector without affecting students or parents.

Eileen Barry has been a secretary at St Mary's for 24 years and her work has never been recognised with full-time pay and conditions by the Department of Education.

'I am employed directly by the school. Everyone here is paid by a grant that comes in to schools called an auxillary grant. Here in New Ross we have five secondary schools and only two are paid directly by the government. They are entitled to a pension, to sick leave and don't have to sign on during the summer. They also have incremental entitlements. We need to be paid the same.'

Eileen said in some schools the board of management and the principal recognise the valuable role the secretary plays and pays them at a similar rate to the government paid secretaries.

'We are hard working girls. The government are putting systems in place and we go along with all the changes. Any training we get is because our principal facilitates it or we take it on ourselves. We are all doing the same work.'

She said the secretaries will continue to protest until they get the terms and conditions they should be getting. 'We have campaigned for the last four years and we are continuing this. We will not stop. This protest is not against this school; this is against the Department of Education. I think if this was a male orientated job it wouldn't have gone on for 40 years.'