FÓRSA Strike Guidance

No, INTO members have not been balloted for industrial action. The INTO supports the right of all organised workers to take industrial action, including strike action. However, any decision to engage in industrial action by INTO members would be subject to industrial relations legislation, as well as the union’s own rules and decision-making processes, as set out in the INTO Rules and Constitution (2024). INTO members are strongly encouraged to show their support for striking secretaries and caretakers in other ways – see below.

Section 14 (2) (e) of the Industrial Relations Act (1990) states:

“(2) The rules of every trade union shall contain a provision that—

(e) where the outcome of a secret ballot conducted by a trade union which is affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions or, in the case of ballots by more than one such trade union, an aggregate majority of all the votes cast, is in favour of supporting a strike organised by another trade union, a decision to take such supportive action shall not be implemented unless the action has been sanctioned by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions;”

This means that INTO members cannot take part in industrial action without a ballot of members in favour of such action.

No. As SNAs were not balloted for industrial action by Fórsa, they are not included in this action. SNAs should refer to any advice or guidance issued by Fórsa on this matter.

SNAs should seek advice from Fórsa or refer to any guidance issued by Fórsa on this matter.

Yes. As stated above, the INTO has been informed by Fórsa that the union has requested pickets to be placed on many schools by striking Fórsa members from 1 September.

The INTO recognises that members may be reluctant to pass pickets placed by striking secretaries and caretakers. However, with regard to pickets, a member of a union is obliged to respect pickets placed by their own union and to respect an ICTU “all-out” picket. The purpose of a union picket is to persuade members of the union (at the relevant grade) in dispute not to work, and to inform the public of the strike. There is no ICTU “all-out” picket in place for this dispute. In that regard, INTO members are expected to continue to attend work as normal.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Guide to Picketing Policy states: “A union involved in a single union dispute is not entitled to call on members of other unions who have not been involved in the strike decision to withdraw their labour or stop doing their own work.”

Members are strongly encouraged to show support to their striking colleagues before and after school time or during lunch breaks, where feasible.

If an INTO member were to decide not to cross another union’s picket, and thereby not to attend for work, such absence would be unauthorised and could lead to a disciplinary process. If any member finds themselves in this situation, they should contact INTO for advice at the earliest opportunity.

There are protections under industrial relations legislation for workers taking industrial action in accordance with the legislation (following a secret ballot etc.). For example, a worker may not lawfully be dismissed for taking strike action. However, no such protections apply to workers including INTO members who act outside the legal framework.

SNAs should seek advice from Fórsa or refer to any guidance issued by the union on this matter. However, the INTO has been advised that SNAs have not been balloted for industrial action.

No. INTO members should not undertake work normally carried out by secretaries and caretakers who are on strike. In addition, other union members or individuals should not be asked by INTO members to carry out such work.

In guidance issued to the INTO by Fórsa on Thursday 21 August, the union set out that “The purpose of taking industrial action is to secure fair pension arrangements for secretaries and caretakers and to agree other basic entitlements provided to other public servants. It is not the purpose of the strike to prevent other school staff such as substitute teachers and SNAs, bus escorts and cleaners from being paid, in many instances staff are paid through the local payroll system, whilst data has to be returned to the Department to generate payment to others through the DEY payroll system.

Therefore, Fórsa accepts that Boards of Management or principals will have to make arrangements ensure that staff can be paid normally for the work they carry out. We have informed the three Teaching Trade Unions of this derogation from our request that their members do not carry out work that would normally be done by Fórsa members who are taking industrial action.”

Schools may need to communicate with their school community to explain how the strike is impacting normal operations (e.g. phones not being answered or the school reception not being staffed).

There is a recognition that workers who carry out their duties should not be impacted in terms of processing payments for this work. As stated in the previous section, INTO members should not undertake work normally carried out by secretaries and caretakers. The INTO believes that the provision of additional release days by the DEY is unhelpful and divisive.

It would be a matter for the Board of Management to assess the situation locally taking in to account a range of factors to determine whether the school can operate safely in the absence of a secretary or caretaker.

The INTO intends to issue a public statement of support for the strike to coincide with the first national rally organised by Fórsa on Thursday, 28 August. The INTO will also encourage members who have not yet returned to school to attend both that rally and the regional rallies taking place on Friday, 29 August. Members will be further encouraged to support striking colleagues where feasible and in line with the guidance provided above.

The INTO has communicated to Fórsa that we fully support this strike and will remain in contact with the union for the duration of the industrial action campaign. We call on the DEY to engage with Fórsa to resolve the grievances that have led to this campaign.