Entitled to just five days pay during cancer treatment - Offaly school secretary speaks out

AN Offaly school secretary has highlighted the inequalities between teachers, secretaries and caretakers as pickets were placed outside schools today in the second week of industrial action.

School secretaries and caretakers across Offaly joined an estimated 2,500 others across the country in an action in pursuit of parity with other school employees, including teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) particularly in relation to public service pensions and associated entitlements.

Outside Daingean National School this morning school secretary Mairead Guinan was heartened to be joined by SNAs and teachers who stood in solidarity with her and her colleagues.

Mairead has been Secretary at Daingean National School for the last three years.

''I worked in the Middle East for 12 years. I relocated to Ireland in 2023 and took up the position of secretary at the school. I do all the accounts, pay the wages for bus escorts, cleaners and caretakers. I order medical supplies. I make sure there is funding for the hot meals and organise when they are coming. I do the pod (Primary Online Database) enrolment for the department. I look after the communications like giving notices to parents.

You are a nurse one minute then you are contacting and getting stuff for different teachers. I'm in charge of paying everyone and doing all the supplies, I do everything. Answering the phone is only a small part of it and the phone could ring about 30 times a day. But it's literally what I love about the job, no two days are ever the same. You don't know what you are heading into every day.''

Mairead starts at 9am and finishes at 4pm. Prior to the school reopening she was in the school in preparation for the return of the pupils and teachers.

Mairead has just returned to work full-time after a battle with cancer. She was out of work for a full year and during this time she received just five days sick pay.

''There is no critical illness payment. In 2024 when I was diagnosed with cancer, I got 5 days pay. I used two of those to get diagnosed and then I got three days sick leave. A teacher would get up to 183 days full pay and 182 on half pay. My cancer was not as important as a teacher's.'' said Mairead.

School secretaries are also not entitled to a pension when they retire.

''The lady I replaced was here for 28 years. She got a bunch of flowers and she is gone. She went above and beyond. We also don't get bereavement leave. If anything happens to my dad I'm not entitled to anything. I'm lucky I have a good husband, family and support. If either of my daughters wanted to be a school secretary, if they ever wanted to do it, God forbid, it wouldn't sit well with me,'' Mairead said.

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''I'm in a government building and everyone else is a public servant. If I didn't work in a government building I wouldn't be expecting the same entitlements.

I know people are saying secretaries don't have a qualification. I have a degree and two diplomas. The job we do speaks volumes. I took the job because I love children.''

Mairead said she is very grateful to her principal and the teachers at Daingean National School for their support.

Fórsa Trade Union who is representing the workers said ''Engagement at the WRC on Wednesday 27th August concluded without any outcome. The Department of Education did not at any point outline to Fórsa its position on the request to admit secretaries and caretakers into the public service pension scheme.''