Longford Senator urges both sides of school secretaries’ dispute to return To WRC  

Longford Senator Joe Flaherty has today urged both the Department of Education and Fórsa, the trade union representing secretaries and caretakers, to return to the Workplace Relation Commission (WRC) as soon as possible. 

The senator’s comments come as Fórsa members across the country enter their fifth day of industrial action to highlight their ongoing fight for the same employment terms and conditions as their school colleagues. 

The issue at the core of this industrial action is that while although school secretaries and caretakers work the same hours as teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNA's), and are employed under identical arrangements, they still do not receive the same benefits and entitlements. This is due to the fact that they are not considered public servants. 

After last Wednesday’s talks between The Department of Education and Fórsa ended without a resolution, a country-wide picket was set in motion with union members protesting outside their schools each day.  

Senator Flaherty, who was on the picket line with staff members in Longford this week, said public support for the workers is unprecedented, but added that the best route to an agreement at this juncture would be through the WRC.  

He said, “The key issue and probable sticking point will be access to public service pension but several other asks such as access to sick pay and bereavement pay can be reasonably and effectively addressed through WRC mediation and I don’t feel it unreasonable to propose working towards an agreed framework that will ultimately address the pension issue also.”

“I know many of the school staff affected, and their passion and commitment is unrivalled. They don’t want to be involved in this industrial action but felt they had to make a statement and have done so effectively.” 

Senator Flaherty stated that while this week’s industrial action had been “very successful” with regard to gaining widespread support across the community, he added that the Fórsa members’ “best interests would now be best served by a return to WRC negotiations,” and urged both sides to do so “without delay, and in the best interests of the workers and our school communities.”