A Clare secretary has refused to rule out the possibility of further industrial action, if an adequate resolution to a Labour Court dispute over pension entitlements isn’t achieved.
Talks have once again concluded between the Department of Education and Fórsa, with the court adjourned to consider its ruling on the matter.
In early September of last year, secretaries and caretakers undertook industrial action, impacting thousands of schools across the country, but this ceased once an agreement was reached at the WRC.
These talks subsequently broke down, however, with Fórsa blaming the Department of Education’s ‘failure to engage meaningfully with union proposals on a range of pension issues, including the recognition of prior service’.
This prompted the dispute to be elevated to the Labour Court.
Vice-chairperson and Treasurer of the Fórsa School Secretaries Branch on the Clare/Galway border, Rena McGrath, says secretaries and caretakers, which are the lifeblood of every school, deserve the same entitlements as teachers and SNAs.
Talks concluded in the Labour Court just before six o’clock last evening, following over eight hours of negotiations and a recommendation is expected to be delivered in the coming days.
Secretary at St Senan’s Primary School in Kilrush, Bernie Dillon, fears the newly initiated auto-enrolment pension scheme may be deemed a satisfactory resolution.
She believes further industrial action could still be on the table though, if full pension parity isn’t achieved.
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