Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

What the Minister is saying to the school secretaries is, "Happy Christmas and good luck to you". They are planning further industrial action on 10 January next, and it is not for the reasons the Minister has outlined. They went into those talks in good faith and on the understanding that they were pursuing parity of pay and conditions. Pay is just one element and leaves out the conditions, which mean that they are not entitled to sick pay and do not get paid during holiday breaks or the summer months. The Minister brags about their pay having increased from €8.65 per hour to €13 per hour, but that is no boast over that period of time. It is very insulting that the school secretaries would be offered such a paltry rise without addressing the equality issues. The Taoiseach and the Minister's party pride themselves on the notion that they stand for equality, be it marriage equality, equality for women or other issues where equality is a buzzword, but they are treating school secretaries like second-class citizens. That is what emerged at the WRC and the school secretaries will not tolerate it. If they go ahead with the strike on 10 January it will be cold and miserable, but the Minister and the Department are telling them there will be no happy Christmas for them in view of the way they are being treated.

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