The school secretaries and caretakers strike looks like it will enter a second week without the Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, even meeting the union, never mind coming up with a settlement.
The Fórsa members are on strike under the headline of “Pension Parity Now!” Yet again, the government has found a way to treat public workers in similar circumstances in very different ways – effectively setting up a two-tier workforce. School secretaries and caretakers are not entitled to the public service pension that other workers in schools, such as teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs), are entitled to. However, the issues go deeper than pension equality. Secretaries and caretakers are also not due a range of other benefits, such as maternity, bereavement leave, and even sick pay.
It needs to be stressed that these issues are all in the hands of the government to address. Government ministers and politicians are playing games. Minister Helen McEntee and the Department of Education are saying it’s not their responsibility, and are trying to push it off onto Minister Chambers and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
Chambers and his department are doing the same, in the opposite direction!
Playing Games
The game-playing is continuing outside of the ministers. On the fifth day of the strike the Fine Gael group of councillors on Kildare County Council issued a statement about the strike, saying “We Stand With You”. The Fine Gael councillors even went as far as saying that the current disparity in the employment conditions of the strikers is “unjust”.
This is an old trick that Fianna Fáil has perfect over the years: speaking out of both sides of their mouths at the same time. We only have to remember Micheál Martin’s duplicity during the Debenham’s dispute in 2020.
In July that year, Martin stated, “…Debenhams will not get away with manipulating the law as it stands to siphon off its assets”. And the very next day said, “the Government cannot intervene in liquidation situations [to protect the workers]”.
Not to be outdone by the Kildare FG councillors, the champion of double-speak in Ireland, Michael Healy Rae, did a video of himself visiting a picket line. Again this is another cynical Fianna Fáil tactic, as the Cork Debenhams workers will testify. During their strike Micheál Martin visited them on the picket line at Patrick’s Street, while doing absolutely nothing to support the workers.
Healy Rae says that the secretaries and caretakers “unfortunately happen to find themselves out in action seeking parity”. It must be remembered Healy Rae is a Minister of State in this government – and a very conservative right wing one at that. Similar to the speaking rights row earlier this year, he’s at the same manoeuvre again – trying to pretend he is not in government, while being a Minister. Healy Rae won’t like this but he is responsible for what his government colleagues do. He could easily speak out against Minister Helen McEntee, who has forced these public service workers out on strike. But he does nothing.
The Real Anti-Worker Face of the Government
However, we know what Fine Gael (and other government) politicians really think about the strike. On the fourth day of the strike the Fine Gael councillors on a subcommittee in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council voted en masse to block a People Before Profit solidarity motion.
It should be clear by now that all these government party politicians are trying to distract from the real issue – settling the dispute. They can’t be trusted. The one person who could do something to settle the strike – Minister McEntee – is purposely pursuing a strategy of ‘do nothing’ and letting the workers sit out the strike.
Escalate to Win
In these circumstances, it is disappointing to see the Fórsa website list all the government politicians who say they support the strikers. Those politicians – who are in power – will now feel positive words are enough to be labeled a supporter, rather than concrete action, and the effect of this is to reduce the pressure on the Government.
It is even more disturbing to see the effort that Fórsa is putting into instructing SNAs to not join the pickets, as this would go against the Industrial Relations Act, something that union leaderships have – shamefully – let fester on the statute books.
The way forward for the strike lies in basic trade union principles: unity is strength and never cross a picket line. Solidarity from other workers always makes a strike stronger.
There are reports of great support among other school workers coupled with unease at being instructed by Fórsa and other teaching unions not to cross the picket lines. Some are finding ways around it. One SNA worker who was told by Fórsa not to picket her school, for example, has joined a picket at another school to show her support. This is not easy and people who do this should be saluted for their determined solidarity.
We should all stand with the striking secretaries and caretakers. They are taking on the government’s continued indifference to what workers are suffering in this country. Winning the strike will encourage other workers to take on other issues like the cost of living and the housing crisis.
Down with this rightwing, anti-worker government – Victory to the school secretaries and caretakers!
