Secretary and caretaker strike becomes family affair in Longford

The strike action carried out by the school secretaries and caretakers of Longford last week became a family affair for the Rowleys when both uncle and niece, Gerry and Nicole, found themselves on the picket line outside the offices of Fine Gael TD Micheál Carrigy. Gerry is employed as a caretaker in St Teresa’s National School in Killoe, while his niece, Nicole, is a secretary for St Mel’s Secondary School in Longford Town.

The strike action, which was held to highlight the lack of equality for school secretaries and caretakers when it came to pensions and entitlements, was called off when word emerged over the weekend of a breakthrough in negotiations.

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Fórsa, the trade union representing the workers, confirmed that an agreement had been reached at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and to allow for the implementation of that agreement, the strike action would be withdrawn.

As part of the latest agreement, the Government committed to negotiating "comparable pension entitlements for school secretaries and caretakers," which Fórsa said, marked the first time the State had formally accepted the point that staff should not be excluded from pension entitlements comparable to those available to teachers and SNAs.

In addition, the agreement provided for structured discussions on other parts of the union’s claim. This includes the conclusion of a pay framework agreement for caretakers (as agreed in the 2022 WRC process), access to bereavement leave, access to sick leave and acute illness protocols, and the full implementation of payroll arrangements.

Speaking to the Longford Leader, Nicole Rowley said she now hoped the outcome from further discussions next Wednesday would prove equally as positive.

“We were delighted on Friday night to get the news that there had been a breakthrough in negotiations between Fórsa, the WRC, and the Department of Education, and we hope now that on Wednesday, all three can come to a settlement and the school secretaries and caretakers get what we are looking for.”

Speaking of the encouragement they received while on the picket line, Nicole added, “The school community and the public were very supportive when we were on strike and a lot of people actually didn’t know about our situation regarding pensions and leave, so when they learned what had been happening, they were so supportive of the strike and actively encouraged us to keep going.”

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With the strike action having now ceased, Gerry and Nicole returned to their respective schools this week alongside their colleagues.

“It was great to be back into work this week,” Nicole said. “We had such a great welcome from the school principal, deputy principal, staff, and students, so it was lovely to be back and catching up on everything.”