Fórsa trade union, which represents more than 2,300 school secretaries in primary and secondary schools, has today (Tuesday 20th May) commenced a ballot of school secretaries for indefinite strike action.
The ballot is part of the union’s ongoing campaign to secure access to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme for school secretaries across the country.
The union said the move to ballot for indefinite strike action reflects the level of frustration with the continued exclusion of school secretaries from the public service pension scheme, despite the regularisation of employment and centralised payroll arrangements since 2023.
Fórsa’s head of Education Andy Pike said the union’s 2023 agreement with the Department of Education successfully standardised pay and conditions for school secretaries, ending years of disparity in pay, contracts, and job security: “It was a landmark agreement, marking a major step forward in recognising the critical role of school secretaries in our education system.
“However, the agreement did not include pension provision under the Single Public Service Pension scheme, and this has left a significant gap in the effort to achieve full equality.
“Fórsa has consistently argued that pension justice is an essential and inseparable part of the process of regularising school secretaries into Department of Education employment. Like every other grade overseen by the department, they must now be afforded the same pension entitlements as other public service workers.
“School secretaries are highly skilled and dedicated professionals. They play a central role in the daily operations of every school and provide crucial leadership in every school community. That school secretaries remain excluded from the public service pension scheme undermines the progress already made. This ballot reflects our members’ determination to see the process through to its conclusion, and that includes pension equality.”
Mr Pike added that Fórsa continues to urge the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to re-engage meaningfully on the matter: “A fair and equitable resolution must be reached. School secretaries deserve to be treated in the same way as other public service workers under the Department’s remit.”
The ballot will conclude on Tuesday 11th June.
