Gorey Community School PHOTO: Sabrina Ffrench
A secondary school in Wexford has made the decision to curtail classes to first and sixth year students only as a result of strike action.
Due to the Fórsa Strike Action which commenced today, Thursday, August 28, Gorey Community School has been left without secretarial and caretaking staff.
This comes after talks at the Workplace Relations Commission failed to come to a solution on a dispute regarding pensions.
Principal of Gorey Community School, Michael Finn said the decision was made to ensure the health and safety of all staff and students at the school. “We have over 540 students in today, which is nearly the size of some schools, so I’m to review it to make sure that it is tenable,” he said.
Michael said secretarial and caretaking staff cover a huge number of roles in the school and said their absence has been challenging. “Without caretakers it’s very difficult to maintain a safe and healthy environment for students and staff.”
He said the decision was made last night following confirmation of the strike action taking place. He said it was important to continue first year and sixth year classes as they are important years in terms of education and continuity.
Michael further said he understands why the secretarial and caretaking staff are on strike. “It is a very difficult situation, when you have colleagues in doing the same type of work, but yet with totally different conditions.
“While its certainly creating an inconvenience for the school and students, I can understand the logic behind it,” Michael added.
Michael advise students and parents from other year groups do not try to access the school building during this time.
The situation will be monitored on a day to day basis. “I will be contacting parents by email every evening on the situation,” said Mr Finn.