Labour fully supports school secretaries
Labour Party Education spokesperson, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said the Labour Party fully supports school secretaries who are taking part in industrial action today.
Senator Ó Ríordáin said:
“As a long time supporter of Fórsa’s Support Our Secretaries campaign, Labour is fully behind school secretaries who are taking action against the Department of Education and Skills.
“The 1.5% pay rise offered to school secretaries by the Department of Education and Skills before Christmas was an insult and it is no surprise that school secretaries are taking industrial action today.
“We strongly believe that non-teaching staff in our schools deserve to be treated with respect as public servants and given a pay scale as public servants.
“School secretaries now take on more tasks that are outside of the traditional secretarial role, despite some being paid as little as €12,500 a year out of ancillary school budgets.
“It is not good enough for school secretaries to be paid in this way. They need certainty in their careers especially when it comes to pay, conditions and career progression.
“The Minister for Education and his officials need to engage meaningfully with school secretaries and their union Fórsa. The Minister needs to show some compassion to the school secretaries and the position they are in, and actually do something to remedy this situation.”