Call for school secretaries to get public service pension

The trade union Fórsa is to resume a campaign for school secretaries and caretakers to be given access to the public service pension scheme.

Since 2021 school secretaries have been paid directly by the Department of Education as part of a pay agreement.

Prior to this, school secretaries were individually employed by school boards of management, on varied and sometimes precarious conditions.

Fórsa 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, something which it has branded as "an injustice".

"The Minister of Education is now the paymaster for teachers, SNAs and school secretaries, all of whom are paid by the department," said Fórsa's Head of Education, Andy Pike.

"However, school secretaries and caretakers continue to be denied access to the pension scheme," he said.

"That's why Fórsa is resuming our campaign for pension justice, and more than 2,000 school secretaries are now preparing to take this campaign all the way to Government’s door," he added

Fórsa is to hold a meeting of its school secretary and school caretaker members on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that the school remains the employer of school secretaries and it is their obligation to provide access to a PRSA scheme for employees.

"For secretaries who are paid through the Department of Education's administered payroll, a facility is now being offered to join a PRSA scheme administered by Cornmarket with contributions being deducted at source," the Department said.

"Any claim for additional terms and conditions, especially those with additional cost implications, must be carefully considered by the Department, in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and in line with the existing industrial relations procedures," the spokesperson said.