Teachers' strike: National Education Union to join action

Teachers are to stage a half-day strike in Northern Ireland on 21 February

A fourth teaching union is to join a widespread half-day strike in Northern Ireland on 21 February.

The National Education Union (NEU) has notified education management bodies its members will join the strike.

Teachers in three other unions - the NASUWT, INTO and UTU - had already decided to walk out from midnight to 12:00 GMT.

About 66% of NEU members who voted in a formal ballot, which closed on Friday, have decided to join the strike.

The union has now notified the Department of Education (DE) and the teaching employers, including the Education Authority (EA), of its intention to strike.

The action by the four unions is due to continuing stalemate over a pay deal.

A letter to principals from the Education Authority's chief executive Sara Long, representing the management bodies and employers, said schools should expect "significant disruption".

But the management bodies have previously advised principals only to close schools as "a last resort".

'Last resort'

In a message to NEU members in Northern Ireland, the union's regional secretary Mark Langhammer said they had a "decisive mandate" to strike.

"What angered our teachers is the long-term under-funding of schools, and our children, and of course our teachers," he said.

The union's vice-president in Northern Ireland, Edel McInerney, said the decision to strike was "ultimately a sad day".

"NEU are slow to anger, moderate and reflective," she said.

"The toxic equilibrium of increased job intensity and decreased job satisfaction has taken its toll.

"This is an absolute last resort for our members.

"The responsibility for any disruption to schools lies squarely with the employing authorities and the Department of Education."

The action by the four unions is due to continuing stalemate over a pay deal

The NAHT union, which represents many Northern Ireland school leaders, had previously decided not to join the 21 February strike.

It said it supported the action taken by other unions but wanted to give some more time for the pay dispute to be settled.

There has been no resolution to the dispute since unions rejected a two-year pay offer as "inadequate" in February 2022.

The unions have since 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 running at over 10%.

Meanwhile, a teachers' strike planned in Wales for next Tuesday has been called off after a new Welsh government pay offer.

Teachers in Wales have been offered an extra 1.5% on this year's 5% pay award, as well as a 1.5% one-off payment.