Birdhill school secretary highlights clear ‘unfairness’

A SCHOOL secretary in Birdhill National School, who is set to vote on strike action with thousands of her colleagues nationwide, has spoken out about the “inherent unfairness” of not being entitled to a pension or to paid bereavement or critical illness leave.

School secretaries and caretakers “will not be back in school in September” unless they are promised access to public service pensions, Fórsa, the country’s largest public service union has warned.

The union, which represents about 18,000 school secretaries, caretakers and specials needs assistants (SNAs) said that while school secretaries fought and won the right to be included on the Department of Education payroll, they continue to be denied access to the public service pension scheme.

Gina Byrne has been school secretary of Birdhill National School for the last 17 years. All her other 19 colleagues in the staffroom - the principal, teachers and SNAs - will rightly receive a Public Service pension at retirement.

However, if the current situation does not change Gina will not receive a pension. “As it stands, if I work until I’m 65, I have nothing but a bunch of flowers to look forward to,” she told this newspaper.

She went on to explain: “We are all employed by our Board of Management - we are all paid by the Department of Education. But I am treated as somehow lesser.

“The vast majority of school secretaries and caretakers across the country are treated this way. It is this inherent unfairness that we are campaigning against.”

As well as having no pension entitlements, caretakers and secretaries like Gina have no entitlement to paid bereavement leave or critical illness leave.

“If someone died belonging to me tomorrow, I have no right to any paid leave. Again, all my colleagues would get compassionate leave,” says Gina, who follows up with a very  pertinent question: “Is my grief different or less?”

‘INHUMANE’

She revealed some of the truly awful experiences school secretaries have experienced due to lack of entitlements that other staff enjoy.

“I have heard harrowing stories of secretary colleagues having to take a year out of work, unpaid, while undergoing cancer treatment. Or worse still, having to work throughout their treatment because they couldn’t afford not to. It is inhumane.”

Alluding to the threatened strike action, Gina said: “We have had enough. We are the backbone of our schools. We love our jobs and have given years of dedicated service to the Department of Education.”

She said it has already taken secretaries like her many years of campaigning to move to graded salaries and be finally paid directly by the Department instead of via a grant paid to Boards of Management.

While she welcomes that move as “a step in the right direction”, she and her fellow secretaries want to be treated just like the rest of the staff in their schools.

“So, we are campaigning to end this injustice and attain Public Servant status. And we have had huge support. It seems people just assumed we had pensions, like everyone else in the staffroom, but now we are getting the truth out there.”

Over 25,000 signatures - and counting - have been gathered by the union in support of its  “Pension Parity” pledge campaign.

GREAT SUPPORT

Parents, Boards of Management, Parents Associations and many TDs and county councillors nationwide have all signed to show their support.

Gina revealed: “We also ran a very successful ‘Badge Week’ photo campaign across social media, with thousands of school staff wearing Pension Parity badges to show their support for their secretary and caretaker colleagues.”

She says the union is now balloting for an indefinite strike, commencing August 28. If passed, thousands of secretaries and caretakers across Ireland will not be returning to work in September.

“This will be hugely impactful on parents, pupils and schools. It is not a decision we take lightly - nobody relishes the idea of going on strike - but we are tired of this unequal treatment,” says Gina, who is a member of the Fórsa School Secretaries Branch Committee.