“School secretaries achieve a massive victory in long-running pay dispute,” Carol Nolan

Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said she was delighted to be informed that a planned one-day strike involving school secretaries has been deferred following substantial concessions from the Department of Education. Deputy Nolan, who has regularly highlighted the dispute, said that it now appears as though the situation where school secretaries who are not directly paid by the Department of Education receive significantly reduced salaries, is being ended:

“This is a major victory for the secretaries, and I am absolutely delighted that all of their hard work and sheer grit and determination has paid off.

As I understand it from Fórsa, the Department of Education made significant concessions in a Workplace Relations Commission-brokered negotiation.

The outcome of this means that the Department has finally conceded that all school secretaries should be placed on the public service clerical officer scale, with the requirement for most secretaries to sign on during school breaks, also being done away with.

They will be able to retain existing work patterns while having their salaries paid over 52 weeks on a pro-rata basis.

There was simply no other just and fair conclusion that could have been reached on this dispute and that is why I again salute and commend the amazing work that so many school secretaries have put into this campaign over the last number of years and more,” concluded Deputy Nolan.