In a campaign by Fórsa trade union, local school secretaries, nurses and caretakers have been on strike since Thursday, 28th of August. The union, supporting 2,600 school staff accross the country are requesting secretaries and caretakers be admitted into the public service pension scheme.
The Department of Education has not, for now, outlined to Fórsa its position on the request. However, the Workplace Relations Comissions has informed Fórsa they had concluded that the gap between the two parties is too far apart for any resolution at this point in time.
The decision follows a ballot in which 98% of Fórsa members backed indefinite strike action. The first day of the strike has been marked by a rally of school secretaries and caretakers at the Department of Public Expenditure offices in Merrion Street. Fórsa has said the department continues to block progress on the issue. Fórsa’s head of Education, Andy Pike, declared: “Our members are beginning this strike today because, despite decades of service, thousands of school secretaries and caretakers still face the prospect of retiring with no pension."
Saint Vincent de Paul School, Marino, Dublin · 29/08/2025
Saint Vincent de Paul School, Marino, Dublin · 29/08/2025
