Unite's week long strike to have 'significant' impact on schools across Northern Ireland

The strike involves more than 700 school workers, including bus drivers, escorts and maintenance workers, catering staff, classroom assistants, playground supervisors, school administrative staff, cleaners, building supervisors and ground maintenance staff.

The union said 94% of members supported the strike in a ballot. The union went on strike last year in response to a local government pay offer of 1.75%.

Unite says the strike is a result of the Department of Education refusing to implement a pay and grading review. The review would see significant increases to the pay of Education Authority workers but Unite says its implementation has been prevented as a result of the "punitive" budget set for the Department by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The General Secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, said: “It is totally unacceptable education workers in Northern Ireland have been denied this improvement as a result of this punishing budget set by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. This budget is not enough to maintain education services – let alone offer any protection to education workers in the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”

Matthew McDermott, from the Education Authority, told Good Morning Ulster that about 105 of the authority's transport routes are affected and about 7,000 children would not have been able to get a school meal during the strike. He said the Education Authority has "no means" to settle the pay dispute due to a funding gap "in excess of £200m".