Northern Ireland education support workers strike: GMB, UNISON and Unite warn of 'huge disruption' to schools in September

School support staff such as bus drivers, classroom assistants, cleaning and canteen staff went on strike over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Around eight special schools were closed with four partial closures.

Around 250 EA yellow buses did not run and more than 20% of children entitled Free School meals were impacted. A small number of mainstream schools also had to close.

Unite, NIPSA and GMB members were already planning further action across 3 and 4 June.

However they are now warning of a serious escalation.

The unions want a pay and grading review for their members, carried out in 2018, to be implemented.

However the Education Minister says current budget restraints do not allow him to meet the demands.

GMB Senior Organiser Alan Perry told the News Letter the Executive is talking to the Treasury about options to find funding for the workers, but that as of Friday there is no progress.

“Things are starting to escalate,” he said. "Obviously we have to look at all options, but yes, there is a potential for action which may result in a full week's closure of schools in September".

NIPSA told the News Letter on Friday that it has begun the process for balloting across all areas of education, covering some 6500 members.

There is an all-members meeting scheduled for next Tuesday evening which will inform the next steps.

In the meantime, NIPSA have written to both the Department for Education and the Education Authority to seek urgent negotiations on this issue.

A spokesperson added that without a resolution further action is inevitable with “massive disruption in early September”.

Patrick Mulholland, NIPSA Deputy General Secretary, said “Numbers called on to strike at the minute have been kept deliberately low but the impact has already been felt. A strike on the scale being planned for September will close schools across the country and the disruption will be huge."

Unite leader Sharon Graham visited 1,500 members of the union on NI picket lines this week.

Ms Graham said: “The majority of school support staff in Northern Ireland are paid as term-time workers which means that they only get full pay for 10 months of the year. Calculated over a twelve-month period, in some cases, workers do not even receive the bare legal minimum." She added: “We will be escalating our campaign to make this an election issue and demand delivery from the politicians – both industrially and in the communities."

Also this week, junior doctors across NI went on a 48 hour strike. They are seeking a 30% uplift to remedy what they say are 15 years of awards failing to match inflation.

BMA spokeswoman Dr Fiona Griffin said: “Support for our action remains steadfast, because our members know that we need to stand firm to achieve our aims.

"We remain willing to work with the Department of Health to achieve a resolution, the quickest way to do that will be through a credible pay offer. As it stands our next strikes planned for 7am on 6 June through to 7 am on the 8 of June will go ahead.”