Education Authority chief urges teaching union to call off industrial action

The action affects duties such as lesson plans

The head of the Education Authority (EA) has called on one of NI's largest teaching unions to abandon its industrial action in schools.

Sara Long said the action short of strike was "regrettable" and would disrupt pupils "educational opportunities".

The NASUWT action began on Monday 9 May and will continue indefinitely.

A union spokesperson said they looked forward to a discussion about teachers being properly rewarded for their work.

The action affects about 20 duties undertaken by teachers - such as covering for other staff, overseeing exams, lesson plans, inspections and school meetings, including parent evenings.

In February, teaching unions in Northern Ireland rejected a pay offer for 2021 - 2023 from the employing bodies. That stalemate has not been resolved.

More than 80% of NASUWT members who took part in a subsequent ballot voted for strike action and almost all voted for action short of a strike.

'Further disruption to the operation of our schools'

Ms Long wrote to schools in her role on the umbrella group representing employers of teachers.

In the letter, seen by BBC News NI, Ms Long said that the NASUWT had taken a "unilateral decision to escalate to industrial action, rather than working collectively" with other unions and the employers to find a resolution to the dispute.

Ms Long was writing in her role on the teaching employers' body which includes the EA, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), the Department of Education (DE) and others.

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Her letter said that the employers recognised the right of teachers to take industrial action.

"However, this action will not resolve issues and instead will bring further disruption to the operation of our schools, which are focused on recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic, and the educational opportunities that need to be provided for our children and young people in this difficult time," she said.

"We have particular concerns about both the impact of this action on our schools and the potential impact and associated implications of the action on teachers' contractual obligations."

Ms Long also said that there were concerns that the NASUWT move could lead to a "period of protracted industrial action".

"Management side has formally requested the NASUWT to stand their action down," she said.

The NASUWT has said members will not invigilate public examinations

She also said NASUWT should get back into "time-bound negotiations" with other unions and the employers.

Despite rejecting the pay offer, no other union apart from the NASUWT has started industrial action in response.