Supporting the Fórsa Strike

School secretaries and caretakers in Ireland, represented by the Fórsa trade union, began an indefinite strike on August 28, 2025, demanding pension parity, public servant status, and equal benefits such as sick pay and leave entitlements compared to teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs). 

While councillors do not have a direct input into national educational matters and pensions, I am happy to give the support I can. 

I'm a secondary teacher and I know well the pivotal roles secretaries and caretakers play in the day to day of the school. So I’m rooting for the school secretaries and caretakers! They’re the backbone of our schools, and it’s unfair they’re denied the same pension rights, sick pay, and leave benefits as teachers and SNAs.

I’m happy to go on record as supporting their strike for equality and hope the government steps up to give them the respect and benefits they deserve. 

At the time of writing this, the strike has already been going on for four days. These people would much rather be at work, but the government has not adequately dealt with questions around pension parity, critical illness leave and bereavement leave. 

Teachers and SNAs have public servant status, but the vast majority of school secretaries and caretakers who work alongside them do not. 

On the back of last year's general election campaign, where the sitting - and re-elected - government, effectively bragged about the affluent status our country is in, we seem to be forever facing shortages of funding in critical infrastructure. The longer this strike goes on, the more irresponsible the refusal to engage with the strikers becomes.