BREAKING: Northern Ireland teaching unions to take strike day on April 26

In a statement the the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it will join four unions who staged a previous walkout on 21 February.

It is expected that most schools in Northern Ireland will close on 26 April as almost every teacher is likely to be on strike.

The action by the teaching unions is mainly due to a dispute over pay.

In a statement the NASUWT confirmed they will be taking strike action Wednesday 26 April over the failure to offer teachers and Further Education lecturers a fair and decent pay award.They said that NASUWT members in Northern Ireland’s Further Education colleges will join their school teacher colleagues in taking strike action.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “Neither the school or college employers have made a satisfactory pay and conditions offer to teachers and lecturers.

"This has left teachers and lecturers with no choice but to take further industrial action.

“At a time when teachers and lecturers are facing the biggest squeeze on their finances in a generation, offering a further real-terms pay cut is unacceptable.

“Our members are not prepared to stand by while their pay dwindles and their living costs rise.

“The Department of Education and the Department for Economy along with the employers must bring forward a substantially improved pay offer if they want to see an end to these disputes.”Justin McCamphill, NASUWT National Official Northern Ireland, said:

“Our members would rather be in their schools and colleges working with their students, but have had no option but to take this action in order to stand up for their right to a salary which reflects the skilled and difficult work they do and which enables them to weather the cost of living crisis.

“The current pay offers are simply insufficient. Teachers and lecturers are not willing to accept yet another real-terms pay cut and are continuing to fight for a better deal.”

“There is intense frustration among teachers and lecturers that they are continuing to be asked to do more for less, while class sizes increase, budgets are cut and support services are withdrawn.”

“The cost of living crisis has brought this situation to a head and unless the Departments and employers act to offer teachers and lecturers a fair and decent pay award we cannot rule out further strike action in the months to come.”

Following today’s decision, INTO Northern Secretary Mark McTaggart said: "Today marks a momentous day for teachers and school leaders in Northern Ireland.

"All five members of the NITC will unite for a day of action - a last resort to demand an annual cost of living increase from the Department of Education and the Northern Ireland Office.

"No teacher wants to take this step, but it is necessary when reasonable demands are ignored."

He added that teacher’s pay has dropped by a staggering 25% in the past decade, causing recruitment and retention issues, resulting in a continued shortage of teachers.

"It’s time to take action and demand a fair pay settlement for those responsible for providing the best education for children and young people.”

Ulster Teachers’ Union confirmed they will join colleagues across Northern Ireland for a second day of strike action on Wednesday April 26.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts we feel we’ve been forced into this as we have until now used every other means possible to improve things for children and teachers here yet no-one seems willing or able to listen,” said UTU General Secretary Jacquie White.

“Our action is about much more than teachers’ pay, though without a realistic salary structure – one reflecting that of our colleagues elsewhere in the UK – we will struggle to attract the best teachers.

“Already we’re experiencing a brain drain. Why would a newly qualified teacher with thousands of pounds of student debt take a job here when just across in Scotland their starting salary is immediately £10,000 higher!

“Teachers are angry that their fears for the future of the system here have fallen on deaf ears for so many years now.

“The latest budgetary savings we’re being expected to make are unconscionable and it’s our most vulnerable children who are bearing the brunt.

“Children seem to be absent in every decision coming from either the Department of Education of the Education Authority. Where is the child in all of this?

“The situation is bleak. If the powers that be refuse to listen to teachers we are facing devastation to our education system the like of which has never been seen before.”

Her views were echoed by outgoing UTU President Louise Creelman, a teacher at Bushvalley Primary, Ballymoney.

Speaking the union conference this weekend in Limavady, she highlighted the challenges facing her colleagues.

“Unless we take a strong stance on the funding crisis in education, its ongoing demise will be certain and swift,” she said.

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“Strike action is not convenient for anyone – it feels awkward and on some levels, it is uncomfortable. However, we were striking for our profession, for our colleagues, for our pupils and most importantly for the sustainment and security of our education system in Northern Ireland.

“Someone has to be the voice for education and therefore it is so encouraging that we are all standing in solidarity, saying enough is enough, moving forward together.

“The message is loud and clear – education deserves better.”