I support school secretaries in their fight for equal treatment in their pay and conditions at work.
There are over 1,000 school secretaries who are being treated unequally by the Department of Education.
“I raised the issue this week in the Dáil at Leaders Questions. I was given an undertaken by the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar TD that he wanted the issue resolved”.
“I reiterated the fact that school secretaries are looking to be treated the same as all other school secretaries who are employed directly by the Department”.
These school secretaries have done trojan work to ensure our schools re-opened and continue to help keep them opened.
“I have requested the Government to enter in substantive talks in the Labour Court as the threat of strike action by school secretaries is real”.
“School secretaries who are paid through the annual school grant have no pension rights, no holiday pay and they have to draw unemployment assistance during holidays”.
“I initiated discussion over a year ago with the then Minister Joe McHugh TD however the officials have refused to engage fully, therefore it is now necessary to enter into formal negotiations in the Labour Court”.