Teaching union to escalate industrial action in schools

A TEACHING union demanding better pay for its members has warned that industrial action just short of striking will ramp up in the new term.

With pupils across Tyrone going back to school, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has notified employing authorities and Department of Education in Northern Ireland that their industrial action will be escalated from the beginning of September.

The NAHT has been in dispute with their employers since October last year, following a ballot of members that returned a mandate for industrial action in the face of a decade of real terms pay cuts, which, they say, is approaching 30 per-cent.

Peter Torney, principal of St Patrick’s Primary School in Newtownstewart, said that he believes it was the ‘right decision’ for the union to intensify their actions.

“I support these escalations greatly; I believe that all unions need to hold firm and stay united in this fight. Non-compliance may be our best weapon,” Mr Torney said.

“Teachers have set out our demands and they need to be met.

“Teachers in the North have shown we are worth the money by outperforming the other states across the UK in recent exam results,” he added.

The escalated action includes a refusal to submit census and other monitoring forms electronically, a refusal to conduct financial planning for more than one year at a time, and the removal of any branding of the employing authorities, the Department of Education, or any support body, from school material.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, “School leaders and teachers in Northern Ireland are not worth less than their colleagues in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland or anywhere else.

“The widening disparity in pay must be addressed by the devolved administration and the Northern Ireland managing authorities with urgency.

“School leaders in Northern Ireland have taken industrial action democratically, following very serious and extensive debate and discussion and voting. They continue on this path with resilience, fortitude and intent, but also with a sense of frustration that school workers in Northern Ireland seem to be so poorly valued by those who should be investing in the future of our schools and our children.”