A school secretary in Dublin has said that secretaries and caretakers have been left with no option but to strike.
Around 2,600 school secretaries and caretakers, who are members of the Fórsa trade union, are to begin indefinite strike action from next Thursday.
The action is being taken in pursuit of terms of employment, such as pension rights, enjoyed by other public service workers.
Fórsa said the decision to take strike action has been backed by 98% of its school secretary and caretaker members.
Cathy Foley, who is one of two secretaries at the Hansfield Educate Together National School in Ongar in Dublin 15, said she is not looking forward to going on strike but said they will stay out as long as it takes.
"We don't want to go out on strike. I have a lot of work to do. There's nothing I would like better than to go back in and welcome all our pupils and get all the work that needs to be done, done. But we just can't," she said.
"The Department [of Education] has had all summer to come and talk to us about this, and they haven't, and it's come to this. So I do worry about what would happen at the school, but unfortunately, we're left with no option but to strike," Ms Foley added.
She said that while progress has been made, secretaries and caretakers want equality with their school colleagues.
"We are now paid by the department, which is great. We're paid over 52 weeks of the year, spread out over 52 weeks, and we get public service increments, etc, but we still don't have parity.
"We don't have a public service pension. We don't have equivalent sick leave, bereavement leave, or critical illness leave," Ms Foley said.
Caretaker at Hansfield Educate Together National School Alex Ignatov is paid from a grant allocation and does not have the same holiday, pension and other entitlements given to his colleagues.
"So I work like a plumber, I work like an electrician, like a painter, I work like an IT technician. I fix computers, smart tech, everything.
"I do landscaping and where is the result? So first thing, I'm not a slave. You know, if I do some work, please pay me. That's it. It's a simple thing," Mr Ignatov said.
Speaking at the school, communications officer with Fórsa Niall Shanahan said the action comes after other options were exhausted.
"This is the next phase, really, of a campaign where we have sought, over several decades, to regularise and standardise pay terms and conditions for school secretaries and caretakers," he said.
"We've indicated to the department that we remain open to negotiations and discussion about how this can be resolved.
"We don't appear to be any closer in terms of a negotiated solution, but we do believe that if negotiations got underway in a meaningful way, and that would include and necessitate the involvement of the Department of Public Expenditure, then I think we could make some progress," Mr Shanahan added.
The Department of Education and Youth has said it recognises the vitally important role of secretaries and caretakers within school communities, without whom schools would be unsustainable.
It said that in recent years progress has been made in improving the terms and conditions of school secretaries.
"This has included secretaries being placed on the payroll of the department and linked to any increases in pay under public sector agreements, improved annual leave entitlements, improved maternity provisions and paid sick leave in excess of the statutory requirement," it said.
The department said it has referred the matter to the Workplace Relations Commission for assistance in resolving the dispute and "will continue to engage with all parties in the coming period".
