Clare Fm - Podcasts

School secretaries in Clare claim they feel “dismissed” by the Department of Education as they join their colleagues nationwide in industrial action today. It’s the first day of indefinite strike action by school secretaries and caretakers amid a long-running row over access to the public sector pension scheme. As children and their teachers across the country filed through the school gates this morning after the summer break, secretaries and caretakers remained outside with placards raised. The Fórsa trade union, which represents school secretaries and caretakers, confirmed yesterday evening that after talks at the Workplace Relations Commission failed to reach a resolution, indefinite industrial action would begin this morning. The dispute centres around the access that teachers and other Department of Education employees have to public sector pensions and other entitlements; access that isn’t enjoyed by secretaries and caretakers. Parents dropping their children off at Scariff Central National School