Jennifer Horgan: Schools have second-class citizens in more ways than one

School secretaries and caretakers deserve our support but girls are also experiencing inequality in our schools, writes Jennifer Horgan

School secretaries and caretakers at a protest on Merrion Street in Dublin on Thursday morning. These people are public servants, deserving of our full support. Picture: Stephen Collins/ Collins Photos

Secretaries and caretakers are being treated like second-class citizens in our schools – that’s according to their trade union, Fórsa. It’s a citizenship that denies them access to public service pension schemes.

Are these 2,300 secretaries and 500 caretakers public servants? Speaking as someone who works in a school, I can tell you there was a secretary who made a child smile this week, helping them manage the transition to primary or secondary school. There was a secretary checking and rechecking attendance records, phoning parents, or guardians, ensuring young people were safe.