NI Education: Teachers consider strike in February

Teaching unions in Northern Ireland are considering joint strike action in late February following the half-term break, BBC News NI understands.

Union members are already taking co-ordinated action short of strike in schools.

Teachers in the NASUWT, INTO, UTU and NAHT unions had previously voted for the option of a walkout.

However, teachers in the National Education Union (NEU) are also now going to be balloted for strike action.

In an email to NEU members, the union's Northern Ireland secretary Mark Langhammer said if they voted to strike, "the first possible action could be in week starting 20 February".

"However, as any action will be co-ordinated with other unions it is likely that a 'Day of Action' may be called in the week following half-term break," his email continued.

According to sources in some of the other unions, discussions have taken place about a joint walkout, but no date for the action has yet been set.

Many schools in Scotland closed and exams were rescheduled following a strike by teachers there on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Further strikes are planned in Scotland on a number of days for the rest of January after teaching unions rejected a 5% pay increase, arguing for 10%.

• Teaching unions take industrial action over pay

• Striking teachers warned of contract breaches

In February 2022, teaching unions in Northern Ireland rejected a pay offer from employers for the years 2021-2023 as "inadequate".

The teaching employers claimed the deal was a 3.2% increase over two years, but the unions claimed it consisted of a restructure of pay grades which would lead to many teachers getting paid less.

The unions subsequently asked for a "cost of living" pay increase of 6% for 2021-22 and a rise of inflation plus 2% for 2022-23.

Inflation is currently at over 10% driven by rises in the cost of everyday goods and energy.

Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme, Mr Langhammer said since the austerity freeze in 2010, teachers had lost "significant income".

"Teachers have essentially lost slightly over 20% of their salary in real terms so they have diminished as a profession and they're being asked effectively to take another sizeable inflationary hit," he said.

'Deep-seated concerns'

In a speech to NEU members in Northern Ireland, Mr Langhammer said he wanted teachers to get "a fully funded pay rise which at least matches inflation".

"This is not unrealistic, contrary to oft-repeated assertions from the government and from a tame 'group-think' in the media," he said.

"In 125 years of our history, we have taken strike action on only one occasion - in 2010 over pensions.

"That our members have been driven towards strike action again is testimony to a long and consistent failure of successive governments - at Stormont and Westminster - to address the deep-seated concerns of the profession."

The NEU's formal strike ballot of its members in Northern Ireland will run from 23 January to 10 February.

It follows an indicative ballot in which just under two-thirds of NEU members who voted backed strike action while a third did not.

Although education received a cash increase in the recent Stormont budget, the Education Authority (EA) may need to cut some services to make around £100m in savings.