SCHOOL PRINCIPALS HAVE been doing the work of colleagues on top of performing their own duties due to the ongoing industrial action taken by secretaries and caretakers, and have made an urgent plea for the situation to be resolved through negotiations. 

Many principals have voiced their frustration at the lack of support, guidance and clarity from representative organisations and the Department of Education.

Workers are still picketing outside schools across the country on what is the seventh day of the industrial action in order to get parity with their colleagues in the education sector. 

A number of schools around the country, including Gorey Community School in Wexford, have been forced to close or limit classes due to the strike. Further closures and class limits are expected if the situation is not resolved soon.

The absence of secretaries and caretakers has highlighted the vital role they play in the day-to-day running of schools, explained Ciara Kavanagh, principal at St Saviour’s National School in Waterford. 

“The work that they do is completely unseen, but is absolutely necessary to the smooth day to day running of the schools,” she told The Journal.

“I mean, most principals have taken over, obviously, opening and closing the schools because they don’t want teaching and learning to be affected.

“I mean, in a large school, that could effectively add an hour to your morning and an hour to your afternoon, getting doors locked, alarm set, all of that kind of thing.”

The National Principals’ Forum said the strike is taking a toll on its members, whom it surveyed this week. One principal said in their response that the last couple of weeks have been “an absolute nightmare of a start to the school year”. 

The forum said principals “are not calling for sympathy but for urgent clarity, tangible support, and meaningful negotiations to resolve the crisis”.

“Many emphasise that while they fully support their secretarial and caretaker colleagues in their fight for parity, they cannot continue to shoulder the burden alone,” the forum said in a statement. 

Kavanagh said that principals are torn between wanting not to undermine the strikers and ensuring their schools are open, clean and safe.

She also said that substitute teachers and special needs assistants are likely to face delays in getting paid as secretaries usually process payroll information in schools.

Another issue that is affecting schools is that, without secretaries, schools are unable to take in students who have moved from a different school, which Kavanagh said will have knock-on effects on the allocation of resources from the Department of Education because it bases that supply on student numbers from the start of September.

The forum said principals are feeling abandoned and are shouldering an unsustainable workload, which is causing them stress and straining relationships with colleagues.

It also said the absence of caretakers is leading to health and safety issues because bins are overflowing and school premises are not being cleaned. 

Additionally, the forum said that “many principals are torn between standing in solidarity with their secretarial and caretaker colleagues and trying to keep schools functioning”.

“They report being caught between contradictory instructions from unions and the Department.”

The forum has sent a letter to three teacher representative bodies outlining concerns and asking questions about the practicalities of carrying out the work of striking colleagues.

They asked if they should do the work of caretakers and secretaries, including things like taking out bins and managing payrolls.

“What tasks are strictly ‘secretarial/caretaker duties’ that principals should not undertake?” the principals asked.

They also wanted to know when and how principals should decide to close a school on health and safety grounds, and how long they should refrain from “answering phones, emails, and post without undermining their own schools”.

‘Descending into chaos’

Three teaching unions have all called on the government to start negotiating with the Fórsa trade union “immediately” to resolve the dispute following “a week of disruption”. 

Fórsa has said that the school system is “descending into chaos” because of the strike and the government’s refusal to resolve the issue.

Over 2,600 Fórsa members are calling for the Department of Education to classify them as public servants, which would entitle them to public service pensions and other benefits that teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) receive, like sick and bereavement leave schemes.

The workers began their indefinite strike action last week after a day of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ended without an agreement between the two parties. 

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike said the union has not heard from the Department of Education or the Department of Public Expenditure, and that no new proposal has been taken by them to the WRC.

“They’re still staying quiet. They’re not doing anything to resolve this, and as each day goes by, the situation gets worse.”

The strikes have led to some schools limiting attendance.

Pike said there has been a small number of school closures in the north Dublin area, with “sporadic reductions” in capacity in schools elsewhere in the country. 

The rubbish is piling up. The bills aren’t being paid.

“The school system is descending into chaos, and whilst all that’s happening, the Taoiseach has said nothing, and the Tánaiste has said nothing.”

Fórsa said the industrial action being taken by the secretaries and caretakers now has the support of over half of government TDs. Pike said half of the Fine Gael parliamentary party have signed up to support the campaign, with almost half the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party doing the same.

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“I don’t know what they’re doing, but they’re not talking to us. They’re not talking to the WRC, and our members are resolute. They will stay out for weeks, if not months.”

‘Situation is unsustainable’

In a joint statement, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) said:

“After a week of disruption, it is clear that schools are struggling to operate as normal. This situation is unsustainable.

“All industrial disputes are ultimately resolved through face-to-face talks, and it is now incumbent on the State to utilise its dispute-resolution bodies to propose solutions and effect an agreement that will settle the current dispute,” the unions said. 

They said that teachers have stood in solidarity with secretaries and caretakers, who “have been left with no choice but to take action in pursuit of basic entitlements”, such as access to public service pensions, occupational sick pay and bereavement leave.

“Their campaign has widespread support within the education community and among the general public because their demands are fair, their contribution is invaluable, and their treatment to date has been unjust.”

They urged Education Minister Helen McEntee and Finance Minister Jack Chambers “to end the impasse by entering meaningful negotiations as a matter of urgency”, adding: “The time for government intervention is now.”

Pike said support for the secretaries and caretakers have grown since the strike began last week. 

“All the pickets are receiving huge support. I work in north Dublin. On the way in to work, I passed many picket lines, very colourful, lots of support, parents out, students out, SNAs teachers.

This is growing. It’s not going away, despite the fact the government wish it would go away.

He said the workers are going to continue to picket “until they get some respect”.

“It’s not any more about money or necessarily getting a big pension. At this stage, it’s about making this government respect the people who keep our schools going, and it’s quite clear they’ve got nothing but contempt for them.”

McEntee said this evening that “school secretaries and caretakers are invaluable members of our school community” and that “no-one is more determined than I am to resolve this dispute”.

“Since the WRC talks ended without resolution last week, my officials and I have been engaging intensively with Minister Chambers and his officials to get us to a point where we can make further progress.

“The Government will enter talks without pre-conditions and so it is essential that both sides agree to enter talks without preconditions.”

She said this was “the only way that this dispute will be resolved”, adding that she believes “the industrial relations machinery of the State is best equipped to help us resolve this issue and I want to see that happen as quickly as possible”.

With reporting from David Mac Redmond