Written answers

Tuesday, 27 July 2021

Department of Education and Skills

School Staff

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1076. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full year cost of bringing all currently employed school secretaries and caretakers under the direct employment of her Department. [41231/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am keenly aware of the vital contribution of secretaries and caretakers within school communities and I recognise the very important work done by these staff, and the other support staff in the running of our schools.

On foot of a Chairman’s Note to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, my Department implemented the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator. The Arbitrator recommended a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period. This arbitration agreement covered the period up to 31 December 2019 and has been fully implemented and increased funding was provided by my Department.

The arbitration agreement was designed to be of greatest benefit to lower-paid secretaries and caretakers. For example, a secretary or caretaker who was paid the then minimum wage of €8.65 per hour in 2015 prior to the arbitration has from 1 January 2019 been paid €13 per hour which is a 50% increase in that individual’s hourly pay.

Fórsa trade union has tabled a follow-on claim from the 2015 agreement. Officials from my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and School Management Bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on the claim. On the 27th of October 2020, under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), an understanding was agreed on a pathway to progress the issues. Several key strands have been identified, and a phased approach is being taken to the development of proposals.

As set out in an agreed statement between the parties following the WRC engagement in May, it is vital that any proposals are fully and properly costed on the basis of complete information relating to current actual numbers of workers involved and have regard to the state of the public finances and the repercussive effects of any such proposals for other grant-funded groups of non-public servants.

The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools receive assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning services under grant schemes. Where a school employs a staff member to support those functions those staff are employees of individual schools and responsibility for terms of employment rests with the school. As a result my Department does not hold data on the staff concerned and is not in a position to provide costings. In terms of the current claim for secretaries and caretakers, my Department has recently completed a data gathering exercise in respect of school secretaries and caretakers paid by grant-funding which will inform costings of this claim.

The parties continue to engage under the auspices of the WRC with the intention to reach agreement on the regularisation of pay, conditions of employment and pension provision as set out in the roadmap document agreed on 27 October 2020. The parties are scheduled to return to the WRC this week and I support meaningful engagement on these issues by all stakeholders.

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