Teachers in NI vote to take strike action

Teachers from the NASUWT union are among those who have voted to take strike action

Members of three of the main teaching unions in Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly for strike action over pay.

The NASUWT, INTO and UTU unions balloted their members on industrial action in November.

They said they were holding the vote due to the lack of "a satisfactory pay offer for 2024-25".

Teachers voted by a majority in each union for strike action and action short of strike.

No strike dates have been set as talks are still ongoing between the unions and the teaching employers, including the Department of Education (DE) and the Education Authority (EA).

The Department of Education said it was "very disappointed the trade unions have escalated to strike action" and described the decision as "entirely premature".

Teachers in England received a 5.5% pay rise for 2024-25 from the government in September.

But the Labour government has recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for public sector workers in England, including teachers, for 2025-26.

That has been criticised by unions.

But teacher's pay in Northern Ireland is negotiated separately.

Despite the fact that it is more than halfway through the 2024-25 financial year, no pay deal for teachers in Northern Ireland has yet been agreed.

'Last resort'

The teaching unions in Northern Ireland accepted a previous pay deal in March 2024, but that was a backdated one covering the years from 2021 to 2024.

The Education Minister Paul Givan recently said that giving teachers in Northern Ireland the 13.5% pay rise unions had asked for was "simply impossible."

The INTO union's Northern Secretary, Mark McTaggart, said that industrial action was "always a last resort".

"INTO members have spoken loudly and clearly in voting for industrial action, and their message is simple: they demand a pay rise that fully recognises their worth to society and one which takes account of the current cost-of-living crisis," he said.

"Teachers across the north are once again the least well paid on these islands, and the employers once again seem content to sleepwalk into a crisis of recruitment and retention of our recently qualified teachers and school leaders.

"Our members have sent the strong message that they have had enough."

'Teachers have had enough'

The UTU's General Secretary, Jacquie White, said that teachers would strike in the new year if their pay claim was not settled.

"Sadly, there's been a marked lack of progress on pay negotiations for 2024–25, and teachers are simply not prepared to put up with this," she said.

"Why should we accept salaries which are less than our counterparts in England or Scotland when we're doing exactly the same job?"

The NASUWT National Official Northern Ireland, Justin McCamphill, said the ballot result "drives home the message that teachers have had enough".

"While there is ongoing constructive engagement with the department and employers, the current position is untenable," he said.

"Teachers expect and deserve better.

"A satisfactory offer must be made if industrial action is to be avoided."

In a statement, the Department of Education said the decision to strike was premature given that talks with the trade unions are ongoing.

It added that "continued engagement" was the best way to find agreement "without the need for industrial action".

"We remain of the view that the issue of pay can be resolved through further engagement and arrangements are in place to meet with union colleagues later this week and into the new year."