Galway East TD Seán Canney has welcomed school secretaries voting in favour of accepting the Department of Education’s offer of improved pay and conditions.
The Department of Education, school management bodies and Fórsa have been engaging on a claim relating to terms and conditions for grant-funded school secretaries.
Deputy Canney explained that under the terms of this new agreement, school secretaries’ pay rates will move to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale on a pro-rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern.
“These pay increases will be backdated to 1st September 2021 while the terms and conditions also cater for lower-paid but longer serving secretaries to be placed higher up the salary scale,” he said.
A new contract will give the option to secretaries that they no longer need to apply to the Department of Social Protection for payment of benefits for periods when they are not working due to school holidays.
Proposals have also been made in relation to issues surrounding annual leave, maternity benefit, and sick pay while an allocation of 22 days annual leave (on a pro rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern) is also proposed.
