Industrial Action - 3rd June

Dear Parents and Guardians

Full day of strike action by all support staff on 3^rd June 2024

I am writing to you about forthcoming strike action by the three unions of support staff in Northern Ireland. You may have seen coverage of this in the news, and I wanted to inform you about the impact this is likely to have at our school.

When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour. Everyone involved in the action will, therefore, not undertake any of their many duties on the strike day.

How will strike action affect St. Mary’s Aughlisnafin?

A detailed risk assessment has been conducted which considers the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum, to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.

As the Principal, I [and the Board of Governors] have determined the school will be:

• closed all day on the 3rd June, 2024.

Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. This is a very unusual circumstance and is the direct result of the failure to take into account the very real concerns expressed by school support staff and workers. Taking strike action is not something that anyone would undertake lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the period that they are on strike.

Yours sincerely,

Conor Murphy

Principal