NASUWT conference: Teachers in Northern Ireland to consider further escalation of industrial action over ‘woeful’ pay

Members across Northern Ireland took a half day of strike action last month in addition to the ongoing concerted campaign of action short of strike action across all grant-aided schools.

The NASUWT is calling for a fully funded 12% pay award for 2022/23 arguing that teachers have already lost thousands of pounds as a result of year-on-year pay cuts and the failure of salaries to keep pace with inflation since 2010.

According to NASUWT research, the last 13 years have seen cuts of 38% to teachers’ pay in real terms.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “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are continuing to be asked to do more for less, while class sizes increase, budgets are cut and support services are withdrawn.

“It is completely unacceptable to expect teachers’ pay to be cut when we are facing the worst cost of living crisis seen for decades.

“The failure to give teachers and lecturers a substantial pay rise is exacerbating the recruitment and retention crisis and is leading to deep anger in the education profession.”

Justin McCamphill, NASUWT National Official for Northern Ireland, said: “Public spending on education in Northern Ireland continues to fall every year and is causing anger and resentment among hard-working teachers

“The paltry pay offers which have been offered to date are derisory and are incapable of restoring pay to what they should have been had pay kept up with inflation over the last decade.

“At conference teachers will be making clear that they are opposed to the continuing cuts to pay and working conditions must be improved.”

The NASUWT conference will take place today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast.

As well as pay, motions on a wide range of other issues affecting the teaching profession and education will be debated including violence against school staff, budget cuts, CPD menopause policies, workload and tackling misogyny.

On Friday evening there will be a panel debate posing the question of whether the education sector can survive the deep cuts being imposed on it.

On Saturday there will be speeches from NASUWT Deputy General Secretary Jane Peckham, NASUWT Northern Ireland President Paul Kennedy and NASUWT National Official Northern Ireland Justin McCamphill.

Meanwhile Irish teaching union INTO will also hold their annual conference today (Friday) in Limerick.

At the event, chairperson of the INTO Northern Office is expected to tell hundreds of delegates that working in schools today is like going back in time when children were asked to bring in a piece of turf each to help heat the school fire.

Siobhan McElhinney, chair of the INTO South Derry Branch, said: “I will be using my speech at conference to speak the truth about the harsh realities our teachers and our children are facing in classrooms across the north today.

“Working through covid brought its own stresses to each and every teacher and pupil, but, to come from that straight into a cost-of-living crisis, where school budgets are already being stretched, just to heat the classrooms they teach children in, is unacceptable.”