School secretaries in Cork say they have fought long and hard for fair pay.
The Department of Education will back pay around 3,000 secretaries today under a Trade Union deal with Fórsa.
School secretaries were previously paid by their school's Board of Management, but they will now join the Department's payroll and get backdated payments of up to €15,000
Speaking to RedFM News, Secretary of Watergrasshill National School and Branch Secretary of Fórsa, Noreen O'Callaghan says they will get automatic pay increases from the Department of Education:
We don't have to go t0 the Board of Management looking for pay rises, or looking for a cheque. We could go down the street and meet a person that's on the Board of Management and they know what we're earning, etc and everything about it. But now, because we're employed by the Department of Education, we'll go in and get the automatic increments. We don't have to go and say "Hey, can I get my check for the payment? Can I can I get a pay raise?"
