Teachers' strike: Three unions to ballot members for strike action

Some schools have written to parents explaining which classes would go ahead as normal on the day

Three main teaching unions in Northern Ireland are to ballot their members for strike action.

The INTO, UTU and ATL are to ask their members to vote in early December.

The INTO leadership said it was seeking a mandate from its 7,000 members for a series of strikes.

Members of the NASUWT union in Belfast and Newtownabbey schools have already announced a one-day strike on 30 November.

In October, all five main teaching unions in Northern Ireland rejected an offer which saw their pay frozen in 2015/16 and a rise of 1% in 2016/17.

INTO's northern secretary Gerry Murphy said that the power to avoid prolonged strike action lay with the Education Minister, Peter Weir.

"We cannot stress enough how much of a crisis this is," he said.

"The minister and the employers can still avert what will be a significant and prolonged period of industrial unrest by paying teachers what they are due for 2015/16 and engaging in genuine talks to reach a multi-year pay settlement with teachers for the remainder of this assembly term.

'Teacher unity'

"It's wholly unacceptable that teachers who have seen the value of their take home pay reduced by at least 15% since 2010/11 are being treated in such a dismissive fashion.

"This is a demonstration of teacher unity on a scale seldom seen before."

The INTO also said it would withdraw its co-operation from the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) to further escalate its campaign.

The NASUWT had previously announced its members elsewhere in Northern Ireland would stage a series of further one-day strikes in January and February 2017.

Mr Weir has described the strike action as "futile".

The INTO, UTU and ATL are currently involved in industrial action short of a strike.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is the only main union in Northern Ireland not currently engaged in industrial action.