Derry MP warns teachers 'shouldn’t have to keep fighting for fair pay and working conditions' after overwhelming ballot for strike action

SDLP Foyle MP Colum Eastwood was speaking as negotiations continued between unions and the Department of Education this week.

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said: “We are now in a situation where teachers and their unions are having to take or threaten strike action year after year simply to secure fair pay and reasonable working conditions. That is a failure of the Executive to properly recognise the contribution our teachers make and the changing pressures they face in our education system.

“I regularly speak to teachers in Derry whose jobs have changed massively in recent years. They are dealing with bigger classrooms, new technology and increased demands around pastoral care and supporting pupils with additional needs. Yet these pressures have not been properly recognised, leaving already stretched staff under even more pressure.

“Teachers,” Mr eastwood added, “go above and beyond for their pupils every single day. They are not asking for the earth. The decision to take industrial action if no resolution is reached will not have been taken lightly. I urge the Education Minister to get around the table with the unions, implement the recommendations of the workload review and ensure teachers can focus on what they do best – educating our children.”

One of the unions, NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said the industrial action followed the Department of Education’s ‘sustained failure to deliver a credible implementation plan for the 27 recommendations of the Independent Review of Workload’.

Maxine Murphy-Higgins, NASUWT National Official for Northern Ireland said: “It is deeply regretful that we have arrived at this point, but the wellbeing of teachers and the quality of education for young people are on the line. Our members are exhausted.

School leaders’ union NAHT(NI) described the ballot for industrial action as an “unmistakable mandate” for change, while Michelle McCrystal, INTO Northern Committee Chairperson said: “INTO members in the north have made their position clear: enough is enough. They are facing intolerable workload pressures, excessive bureaucracy and a growing erosion of professional autonomy. The Department of Education has had numerous opportunities to resolve these issues but has instead presided over continued delays, uncertainty and insufficient action.”

Education Minister Paul Givan meanwhile expressed hope that significant progress made through negotiations over the summer can be concluded positively to avoid industrial action.

Paul Givan said: “At my request, a panel was established to identify workload-related issues. The panel’s recommendations have been taken forward and the employers along with my Department are committed to implementing them. Significant progress has been made through the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) conciliation process.”

“Negotiations over recent months have been very constructive with agreement reached across a range of issues in dispute. This ballot was initiated before the negotiations had commenced and the outcome does not reflect the genuine efforts that have been made by all parties to find a resolution.

“My Department and Management Side have engaged in good faith, demonstrating a willingness to listen and respond and we will continue to do so. We will also need to consider how further engagement can be structured in a way that is meaningful and has a realistic prospect of reaching agreement.”