Around 2,000 schools across the country will today begin the process of tackling the backlog of work that has built up due to a strike by school secretaries and caretakers that lasted for more than a week.
Pickets were placed at schools by striking workers demanding access to public sector pensions and other entitlements.
The Fórsa trade union, which represents the secretaries and caretakers, withdrew the strike action on Friday night after an agreement was reached to engage in a process to resolve the dispute.
Overflowing rubbish bins and unprocessed paperwork will be among the issues that schools will have to address as striking staff return to work.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said it acknowledges that the last few weeks have been a challenging time for school communities.
“The Department remains available to support any school that requires assistance. We encourage school leaders to reach out through their usual channels should they need guidance or resources,” the spokesperson said.
Fórsa said that the key element of the agreement reached on Friday night is a Government commitment to negotiate pension entitlements for school secretaries and caretakers that are comparable with teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs).
The agreement also provides for discussions on other issues including access to bereavement leave and sick leave, as well as the conclusion of a pay deal for caretakers.
Discussions on the agreement will begin at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Wednesday.
If there are any outstanding issues, the parties have agreed to have the matters referred to the Labour Court.
On Friday, Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee described the developments as a breakthrough and said she very much welcomed Fórsa’s agreement to withdraw strike action and enter discussions in the WRC.
“Both sides must come together with an open mind and good faith without preconditions or pre-conceived ideas of a final outcome,” Ms McEntee said.
More than 2,600 school secretaries and caretakers, who are members of Fórsa, began indefinite strike action on 28 August impacting around 2,000 schools.
The action involved pickets at school gates, as well as rallies at Leinster House, Government departments, and the constituency offices of Government ministers.
