Education: Newly-qualified teachers could earn £30k starting salary

The education minister his proposal would bring the starting point for NI salaries equal to those in England

Newly-qualified teachers in Northern Ireland could get a starting salary of £30,000, under a pay offer outlined by Education Minister Paul Givan.

Teachers in Northern Ireland have not had a pay increase for three years.

The five main unions have been engaged in long-running strike action, but agreed to postpone any further action last month due to fresh negotiations.

Mr Givan said his proposal would bring the starting point for salaries equal to those in England.

On Monday, he outlined a formal offer on teachers' pay for 2021, 2022 and 2023 to the unions.

Teaching unions have campaigned for better pay for members

Mr Givan said: "It is unacceptable that teachers have been waiting three years for a pay increase.

"I have made it clear that my highest priority is to ensure that the teaching profession is paid at a rate which recognises the value of their profession.

"This is a positive step in that direction, and I commend the positive negotiations that have taken place within the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC) which consists of management and the trade unions representing teachers and school leaders."

'Represents a good step forward'

Jacquie White, general secretary of the Ulster Teachers Union, said her union welcomed the offer.

Speaking to the BBC News NI's Evening Extra programme she said, "We welcome the fact this is finally being recognised - that we do have a recruitment and retention crisis."

Asked about teachers taking industrial action in the past year, Ms White said there was "no reason for us to be at that point" and that it had been "left to teachers to pick up the pieces" due to a shortfall of lack of funding and resources in education.

Justin McCamphill of NASUWT, The Teacher's union, said ongoing work is "vital" so strikes and industrial action short of strikes does not have to happen.

"We have to be looking at pay restoration over the next few years - not just this one pay offer," he told the programme.

"[Strike action] is a worry but we know our members are resolved - if we have to have another fight, we will have another fight."

Mr McCamphill said that even with actions taken over pay disputes, teachers have continued to deliver for children in Northern Ireland:

"Our league tables are consistently higher than the rest of the UK - teachers have kept delivering for the children," he added.

Stabilise the system

The unions that now make up the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) will now consult with their members on the proposals in advance of any formal acceptance.

Mr Givan said he would urge all teachers and school leaders to consider the formal offer and hoped it would bring an end to all industrial action.

He said that would "create the opportunity to stabilise our education system and allow us to build upon this in the delivery of world class education in Northern Ireland".

The proposed settlement for newly-qualified teachers represents a 24.3% increase from the current starting salary of just over £24,000, said the department.

It means the starting salary will rise to £30,000 from 1 September 2023.

The department added that the pay offer also equates to a cumulative total of 10.4%, plus £1,000 being applied to the other teachers' and leadership pay scales.