Bríd Smith demands action to end pay inequality for school staff
Bríd Smith urged the minister to enforce stalled talks to end discrimination in pay, pensions and conditions for school secretaries and caretakers. She called on the Department of Education to engage meaningfully after a commitment by a senior politician and the Tánaiste.
Summary
Bríd Smith raised the issue of long-running discrimination against school secretaries and caretakers and pressed the Minister for Public Reform and Expenditure to ensure the Department of Education participates in meaningful talks. She referenced a commitment made almost 18 months earlier by a senior politician and the Tánaiste to end the inequality.
WRC hearing and recent progress
The minister said a further WRC hearing was scheduled for Thursday of that week and that there had been intensive discussions. A WRC hearing in September had seen progress on applying a public service clerical officer grade 3 pay scale more broadly.
Employment arrangements described as a "patchwork quilt"
The minister described the current situation as a patchwork quilt, with some staff directly employed by ETBs, some by schools and some by boards of management. That fragmentation was cited as a barrier to a single, consistent pay and pensions outcome for secretaries and caretakers.
Outstanding issues and calls for engagement
Bríd Smith told the minister she had spoken to staff who feel mistreated and urged the Department of Education to engage in talks at the WRC to deliver on earlier commitments. She asked the minister to ensure the talks were taken seriously and that a resolution would be reached.
Government response and intent to resolve
The minister said the government was anxious to resolve the dispute, expressed respect for school secretaries and caretakers, and said officials were actively working on the issue. The minister said they were hopeful of progress at the upcoming WRC session.
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I'm sure you'll agree with me that a commitment made by a senior politician should be delivered on and almost 18 months ago Leo Varadkar made a commitment that he would end the discrimination against school secretaries and caretakers in terms of their pay, their pensions and their conditions and talks have again stalled in the WRC and I spoke to some of them who feel like they're ragdolls being kicked around the place as if they've done something wrong can you please as Minister for Public Reform and Expenditure ensure that the Department of Education engage in a meaningful way with these talks to deliver on the commitment made by the Tanaiste that they would end the inequality visited on school secretaries and caretakers. Thank you Deputy Smith. Minister. Thank you very much Deputy Smith for raising what is a really important issue for so many school secretaries and indeed caretakers around the country. As you know there is to be a further hearing at the WRC on Thursday of this week. There have been intensive discussions in the lead up to that. There was a WRC hearing last September where a lot of progress was made in relation to a public service pay scale, clerical officer grade 3 pay scale being applied across the board because at the moment what we have is a patchwork quilt really of a system where some are directly employed by ETB, some are employed by schools, some by boards of management, and so on and so on and so on. It is important that we bring a resolution to this issue. I am aware of what the key outstanding issues are and I have discussed those with the Minister for Education and I am hopeful that there will be progress made later this week at the WRC. Thank you Minister. The Government is very anxious to resolve this dispute. We absolutely respect and admire the work of our school secretaries and caretakers all over the country and we are actively working on the issue. Thank you.
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