More strikes could be on the cards for Northern Ireland’s schools in the new academic year as Ireland’s largest teaching union confirmed its members will protest over the prolonged erosion of their pay and increasing levels of "unmanageable" workload.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation has warned thousands of teachers could either take strike action or work to rule in early autumn.
The INTO says its members, along with its colleagues on the NI Teachers’ Council, have been campaigning and lobbying political parties since April in a bid to have the issue of teachers’ pay placed firmly on their agendas.
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They have called on the different employing authorities and the Department of Education to engage with the Department of Finance to achieve a fair resolution "through joined-up thinking".
The INTO said the real value of teachers’ pay has been continually eroded since 2010, firstly due to austerity measures, and now in the form of a 1% public pay policy which means members are struggling to keep pace with a near double digit inflation rise.
They are demanding a rise in pay that is in keeping with inflation and reflects their contribution to society.
Gerry Murphy, INTO’s Northern Secretary, said the union has always sought dialogue and sees industrial action only as a last resort.
“We can no longer ignore the frustration and anger of our membership who are faced with escalating costs to both energy, food and National Insurance increases. They feel their goodwill throughout the pandemic has been taken for granted and they are now at breaking point.”
Mr Murphy added: “INTO is left with no other choice but to seek a mandate from our members for action. The Department of Education seems, through its mean-spirited pay offer, to have misread the mood of its teachers and not to have taken the feelings of our members seriously.
“Have they forgotten that our members were on the frontline during the pandemic enabling key services to continue to be provided? The teaching community’s response to the pandemic only serves to confirm the importance and worth of this group of professionals and confirms both the need to seriously consider a reduction of teacher workload alongside a fair increase in teachers’ pay.”
In May, the Ulster Teachers' Union joined forces with the INTO, the National Education Union (NEU) and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) in a joint pay campaign.
A year on since Northern Ireland's teachers submitted their initial pay claim to the Education Minister, they said there has still been no movement.
A month earlier, Northern Ireland's largest teaching union, the NASUWT, said 98% of its members had voted in favour of industrial action as part of a dispute over pay, working conditions and workload.
The NASUWT also said 81% of ballots returned advocated for strike action, due to the "deep anger" at the current state of affairs in the education sector.
In May, the union announced the action short of strike but has since ruled out an escalation to a strike.
The action impacts on a number of duties, including covering for other staff, overseeing exams, lesson plans, inspections and parent-teacher meetings.
Members of the NAHT also recently backed industrial action in an indicative ballot.
Members of the Unite union, including bus drivers and those in non-teaching roles who employed directly by the Education Authority, went on strike on several dates during April and May.
These strikes had an impact particularly on school transport and on some special schools throughout Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “We recognise that teachers have a right to vote for, and participate in, industrial action. Engagement is currently ongoing between Management Side and Teachers’ Side of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) on a teachers’ pay settlement.
“ Management side remains committed to resolving issues regarding teachers’ pay through discussion and hopes to find a resolution as soon as possible.”
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