Unions expect huge response from Northern Ireland teachers to strike call

​The NASUWT teachers’ union has said the one-day stoppage “will bring the civil service and education to a halt” in a row over pay.

Speaking on the eve of the strike, union official Justin McCamphill said: "Thousands of teachers and lecturers across Northern Ireland will be striking today, closing most schools and colleges.

"This action to close schools and colleges for one day shows the seriousness of the situation faced by teachers and lecturers. We hope parents will recognise that the quality of the education their children receive depends on having teachers who are recognised and rewarded as skilled professionals.”

Mr McCamphill said teachers viewed strike action as “a last resort,” and added: “When they feel they are not recognised and rewarded for what they do and they are insulted by receiving year on year pay cuts then they have little choice but to take this action.”

The Ulster Teachers Union said parents don’t realise the cuts that are coming to education services.

In a warning to parents, UTU president Lynelle Fenton said: “Teachers are striking for the children and young people they see every day in school because they fear for their education.

“I really don’t think parents realise the cuts that are coming and the profound, potentially irreparable damage they will do to our education system, a system which until now has often been the envy of other parts of the UK."

Ms Fenton added: “If the government wants to invest in its young people, in the future of society, they must invest in our schools and our teachers. Already we’re experiencing the impact of the brain drain as teachers quit NI for better salaries elsewhere.”

Another teachers’ union, the Association of School and College Leaders in NI, said the government must address the current “crisis” in education or risk “serious social and economic consequences”.