'If rats or gulls attack the kids, we may have to shut school' - principal's warning as rubbish builds up during strike

""We already have a problem with seagulls swooping down during break time," she said. "It's a health and safety risk. My hands are tied in terms of what we're supposed to do. "If there are rodents or birds [that] are potentially going to attack the kids, it might pressure me into making a decision about closing. We're not far off. It's Thursday and I dread to think what it would be like on Monday.""

""A stack of social welfare forms that need to be signed so parents can continue to claim child benefit for older teenagers is growing at the reception desk window, she said. Ms Duane said she is not taking on the strikers' work as unions have instructed, because they were told it would \"completely undermine\" the effect of the strike. "The whole point of this is illustrating how vital they are to the school," she said.""

An indefinite strike by over 2,800 school secretaries and caretakers has left routine tasks undone at St Joseph's in Fairview, Dublin, with bins piling up and cleaners attempting to cope. Overflowing rubbish in the yard and seagulls swooping during breaks are creating health and safety risks and raising the possibility of school closure if rodents or birds pose threats. A blocked drain caused flooding that restricted access to toilets and the school office is closed. Social welfare forms requiring signatures are accumulating. Staff are following union advice not to cover striking colleagues' duties to preserve the strike's impact and to highlight caretakers' vital roles and pension concerns.

Read at Irish Independent