Teachers announce new strike date in January: INTO, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, UTU, are striking over pay, saying they are being left behind rates in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland

A statement from the Ulster Teacher’s Union (UTU) this morning said that teacher have “vowed to strike until their long-running pay claim is resolved”.

Jacquie White, General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers’ Union, was speaking as it and the four other main teaching unions here announced a further day of strike action on January 18, 2023.

The strike action follows a half day strike in schools on the 21 February a full day on the 26 April and a half day on the 29 November.

School support staff, such as classroom assistants, bus drivers, catering staff and administrators have also been engaging in strike action over pay.

Last month the Northern Ireland Teachers Council (NITC) announced that they are planning four full-day strikes in the spring term, on dates to be agreed.

“Almost unbelievably we are entering 2024 with no resolution since 2020 and it’s now accepted at all levels that teachers' pay needs to be addressed,” Ms White said in a statement today.

“Yet despite the fact that funding for the public sector pay claim has been identified within the initial offer which now sits with the Secretary of State, the ultimate irony remains that – because of the current situation in Stormont - there’s no mechanism to deliver it.

“Meanwhile teachers continue to hold together a system which is crumbling beneath the weight of long-term under-investment, a system which is short-changing our children and risking our future socio-economic success as a country.

“We cannot stress how vital it is that our education system is appropriately funded because our action today is about so much more than pay – the pay parity which would give Northern Ireland’s teachers equal standing with their counterparts elsewhere in GB is key to moving forward.

“Currently newly qualified teachers here are on a starting salary £8,000 below their counterparts in Scotland.

“The profession is haemorrhaging its best people and failing to attract the candidates which until now have given Northern Ireland such an edge when it comes to our pupil outcomes.”

She added: “We would call on the Department of Education, local politicians and the Secretary of State to deliver a mechanism for resolution.”

NASUWT members in Northern Ireland’s Further Education colleges will join their school teacher colleagues in taking strike action.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “Yet again, teachers and lecturers in Northern Ireland are having to take to the picket line in protest to highlight that their pay has now fallen far behind that of their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Three years without a pay increase is intolerable and NASUWT members across the UK are fully behind our members in Northern Ireland as they fight for a better deal for teachers and lecturers.

“Given that the UK government has finally acknowledged that Northern Ireland’s public services are underfunded and have begun to address the shortfall, it is incumbent on them to ensure that teachers and lecturers in Northern Ireland do not suffer any further.”

Justin McCamphill, NASUWT National Official Northern Ireland, said: “Last week the Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland raised major concerns in relation to the ongoing funding crisis. Education in Northern Ireland must be funded at the same level as the rest of the UK while ensuring that funding matches the needs of our children and young people.”

“Teachers and lecturers should not be used as political pawns. Teachers fully support the return of a devolved government and believe that a restored Executive is best placed to address how Northern Ireland’s long-term finances are supported by the UK government. However, teachers need to be paid now.”