School secretaries issue threat of strike
On the second day of the IMPACT trade union conference in Kilkenny yesterday, it was claimed up to 5% of the secretaries are earning the minimum wage of €8.65 or even less.
The conference heard the plight of one Limerick secretary who started working for a school eight years ago. At that point she was earning €225 for a 37.5-hour week — an hourly rate of €6.02. According to the union, eight years later that woman is still earning the same wage — now almost €3 less than the minimum wage.
