ACCS/info Bulletin 35/19
Tue, Aug 20th, 2019
The Secretary,
Board of Management and
School Principal in
each Community and Comprehensive School.
Members of the Executive of ACCS.
ACCS/Info Bulletin 35/19
Re: Survey on secretaries and caretakers working in schools whose salaries are funded from state grants
The Department of Education and Skills has informed the management bodies that Department officials met with FÓRSA trade union representatives on Monday 27th of May. FÓRSA took the opportunity to formally table a claim seeking public service conditions for secretaries and caretakers who are employed directly by schools, and whose salaries are funded from state grants.
As is standard practice, the Department must establish the full current cost of the trade union’s claim, including current pay rates and hours worked. However, the Department is not the employer and does not currently hold that information. The Department now needs to carry out a survey on the number of secretaries and caretakers working in schools whose salaries are funded from state grants.
Background
This has been tabled as a follow-on claim from the current pay agreement for this cohort of staff (Arbitration Agreement 2015) which lasts until December 2019. That agreement provides for a 10% pay increase from 2016 to 2019 and a higher minimum hourly rate of €13.
It is essential that all schools ensure that this agreement has been fully implemented in respect of any secretaries or caretakers employed by the Board of Management and paid through grant funding.
The latest circulars in respect of this agreement are available as follows:
https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0076_2018.pdf https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0077_2018.pdf
Next Steps
There are two surveys available for completion by each Board of Management. The surveys have been kept deliberately short and are available online to ensure ease of access and a higher return rate. Both surveys are password protected. Passwords are case sensitive.
The survey links are available below, and through Esinet.
Secretaries
English — https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/School_Secretary_19
Irish — https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SuirbhearRunaithe2019
Password: Secretary2019
Caretakers
English — https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/School_Caretaker_19
Irish — https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SuirbhearFeighlithe2019
Password: Caretaker2019
Notes for Completion
A separate survey must be completed for each secretary and caretaker employed by the school and paid by grant funding.
Queries on the survey should be directed to: esrsurvey@education.gov.ie
Important: Please complete the survey carefully. The survey contains additional questions which appear once certain options are selected.
Closing Date
Allowing for the busy period at the start of the school year, the closing date for this survey is: Wednesday 4th September 2019. We encourage you to return this information to the DES as promptly as possible, as it is essential a high return rate on the survey is achieved in order to obtain the most accurate dataset for the analysis of this pay claim.
Is mise,
le mór mheas,
_________________
John Irwin,
General Secretary ACCS.