Northern Ireland teacher strikes: Why are union members taking industrial action - and when will it start?

• Unions and teaching employers have so far been unable to agree on a pay deal for Northern Ireland’s teachers for this school year
• Three major teaching unions have voted in favour of both strikes and other industrial action
• Members were originally instructed to begin taking actions ‘short of striking’ from this month
• The Department of Education says it is ‘disappointed’, but that talks are ongoing

Members of some of Northern Ireland’s biggest teaching unions have recently voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of strike action.

Three major education unions - the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), the Ulster Teachers' Union (UTU), and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) - recently balloted their members to gauge their thoughts on taking industrial action. It comes amid ongoing discussions between the unions and some of Northern Ireland’s largest teaching employers, which include the Department of Education and the Education Authority, over pay for teachers in the current 2024/25 school year.

All three unions voted in favour of both strikes and taking other industrial action, the BBC reports. NASUWT alone said that of its members that responded, 92.7 % voted in support of strike action, while 99% were in support of industrial action short of striking.

But what exactly do teachers and education unions want, and what could the industrial action mean for parents and students? Here’s what you need to know:

Why did teachers vote to strike?

NASUWT said that as of December, teachers in Northern Ireland had yet to receive a formal pay offer for the current academic year. Teachers in England and Wales have received a 5.5% pay increase, but Northern Ireland negotiates its own pay deals for teachers.

In a statement, NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said teachers had delivered a “resounding message” to the Minister of Education Paul Givan by voting for industrial action. “They are adamant that they are not prepared to tolerate a situation where they are the worst paid teachers in the UK and are fully prepared to take either strike action or action short of strike in the new year.”

“This strength of feeling must now be recognised, and the Minister and employers must move decisively to ensure that a suitable offer can be made to teachers,” he continued. “Teachers wish to avoid industrial action, but they have been left with no choice.”

NASUWT’s national official for Northern Ireland, Justin McCamphill, added that teachers have had enough, and while there had been ongoing constructive engagement with the Department and teaching employers, the current position was “untenable”. “Teachers expect and deserve better,” he said.

The Department of Education told the BBC that it was “very disappointed the trade unions have escalated to strike action”, and said it was “entirely premature” as talks were still ongoing.

Education minister Paul Givan previously said that teaching unions had asked for a 13.5% pay increase, which would be “simply impossible”. He added that the department was £20 million short of even being able to meet the 5.5% rise that England’s teachers had received, the broadcaster reported.

When will industrial action begin - and what could it mean for schools?

Although the results of the ballot were revealed in mid-December, there are currently no set strike dates that have been announced. NASUWT said at the time that it “will send details of the industrial instruction to employers and members in the New Year”.

Originally, The Irish News reports that a letter was sent out to members to begin industrial action “short of strike”, on Monday, 13 January. Days before this was due to begin, however, representatives from the three unions told the BBC that they had temporarily suspended the action due to progress in their negotiations.

But INTO’s Northern Secretary, Mark McTaggart, told the broadcaster that the unions were still “fully prepared to engage in industrial action if necessary” at the end of the four-week period.

When NASUWT members in England planned to take industrial action short of a strike in 2023, the government warned parents that it could involve participating teachers refusing to complete tasks they believed to be outside of their contracts - like lesson planning - or covering for other staff except in unforeseen circumstances.

This type of industrial was not intended to close down schools, it continued, although it could cause some disruption for schools - particularly if a lot of their staff were union members. “In the event of industrial action, school or college leaders will take all reasonable steps to minimise disruption. This could include reviewing timetabling or making changes to how they operate.”

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