1000 non-teaching staff to go on strike locally

ALMOST 1,000 non-teaching staff at schools across the Omagh area are taking to the picket lines this Thursday as part of a major new industrial action.

UNISON, Unite the Union, NIPSA and GMB have notified the Education Authority that members are being called to take part in strike action in relation to a trade dispute linked to a Pay and Grading Review.

In Omagh, picket lines, organised by Unison, will be held at the Arvalee School and Resource Centre, Holy Family Primary and at the Education Authority headquarters on the Hospital Road from 9am until 1pm.

Arvalee has said it will close for the day due to the expected disruption to some of its school services. Principal, Jonathan Gray has said that he, along with the Board of Governors, “feel strongly” that staff should be paid fairly for the essential and significant jobs that they do.

The strike will include classroom assistants, school meals staff, cleaners, caretakers, transport, bus escorts, estate staff and clerical and administrative workers.

Branch Secretary of the Sperrin and Devenish Unison education section, Stephanie Kennedy, said the action was about pay and the jobs being undertaken by their members.

“We have been doing good-will gestures for so many years and this has been taken advantage off by the EA and some schools,” the secretary said.

“It is vital that jobs are re-graded urgently to reflect the work that people are actually doing. The framework for this was agreed in 2019, the EA has received it and they must now be fighting with the Department for Education to get funding released.

“All of those support staff ensured that schools kept running during the pandemic when some teachers were not in.

“Vulnerable children are going to lose our on a day’s education. It’s not something which we want to do, but nobody is listening and this is going to continue happening if we don’t ensure that the concerns of our members are heard.”

In a letter to parents regarding Arvalee’s closure, principal Jonathan Gray, said, “This means that reception will not be covered, and teachers cannot be contacted due to the teachers’s action-short-of-strike,” he said.

“Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause disruption and I thank you for your understanding.

“Strike action is not something that any member of the school staff undertakes lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the period that they are on strike.

“It is vital that the Department for Education and Education Authority understand fully that the work of our staff is vital and needs to be paid appropriately.”

Commenting ahead of the strike, Department of Education Permanent Secretary, Dr Mark Browne said, “Next week’s planned strike action by UNISON, Unite the Union, NIPSA and GMB will undoubtedly cause significant disruption to services right across the education sector and have a major impact on parents and pupils, including our most vulnerable children and young people…

“I would urge everyone concerned to re-consider, in light of the serious ramifications of this strike and the severe disruption that will be caused.”