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11 Dec 2025
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11 Dec 2025
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School secretaries and caretakers from Donegal who attended Fórsa’s national rally in Dublin in August which marked the start of strike action over pension parity
The Donegal Municipal District Council is to write to the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure following councillor support for school secretaries and caretakers.
Cllr Noel Jordan and Cllr Jimmy Brogan spoke of their support for the cause of school secretaries and caretakers, after a trade union, Fórsa, withdrew from strike action in September, after an agreement was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to bring the dispute to an end.
The union had said that a key element of the agreement was a Government commitment to negotiate comparable pension entitlements for school secretaries and caretakers.
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Speaking at December’s Donegal Municipal District meeting, Cllr Jordan said: “In early September, a large number of school secretaries and caretakers had to go on strike for pension parity. There were union talks with the Department.
“Through those talks, a lot of people feel they were duped out of the strike action. It is about fairness and equality.
“I would ask this Municipal District to write to the Minister of Education, asking them for fairness and equality for these people.
“These people don’t want to be on strike, but if they don’t get pension parity, they will be forced to go out again. This is the last place they want to be.
“I am asking that we write to the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure.
“These people truly deserve it because schools don’t operate without the skills of these people, with what they provide to schools, day in and day out.”
Cllr Brogan stated after: “It is very important that they get treated fairly and get the same packages.
“There are some secretaries and caretakers getting paid their fair dues, while some are not.
“We should issue fairness to everybody.”
In response, the Area Manager for Housing and Corporate, Pauric Sheerin, commented: “We will write a letter to the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure. We can do that.”
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