Teachers in Northern Ireland have once again rejected a 5.5% pay offer for 2024/25, marking the second time they have turned down the proposal from employers. As a result, there is potential for strike action as teachers have previously voted in favor of it. The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC), representing the various teaching unions, stated that teachers were unable to accept the offer.
Despite some unions like the UTU, NEU, and NAHT voting to accept the pay increase, the overall decision within the NITC was to reject the offer. The majority of teachers felt that the terms of the proposal did not adequately address their concerns, particularly regarding their increasing workload. The teaching employers, comprised of the Education Authority (EA), the Department of Education (DE), and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), had included measures to alleviate workload pressures in their latest offer.
The pay offer would have amounted to just under £50 million for Stormont in 2024/25 and around £83 million in subsequent years. If implemented, it would have resulted in salary increases for teachers, with newer educators seeing a rise from £30,000 to £31,650 annually. However, the unions felt that these adjustments were insufficient, leading to the rejection of the offer once more. Concerns about workload were a key factor in the decision-making process for teachers.
Moving forward, unions will continue ongoing action short of a strike in schools while considering their next steps. Union leaders reiterated the importance of addressing workload issues and ensuring a fair resolution for all parties involved. The NEU Regional Secretary emphasized the unions’ commitment to finding a resolution and engaging in further talks to reach a suitable agreement. Meanwhile, the employers expressed disappointment over the rejection of the pay offer and called for a suspension of ongoing industrial action to facilitate discussions on resolving the dispute
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