The Education Minister has told teachers “there is no more money on the table” after making a formal offer of a 5.5% pay rise.
Northern Ireland’s five main teaching unions are now set to put the offer to members, but the warning is there from the Minister that the ability of the NI Executive to provide further funding “isn’t there”.
“What I have been focused on is supporting our teachers,” Paul Givan said.
“We settled on our 10% pay uplift whenever we returned to Stormont last year. That related to three years of a dispute and was a significant increase in teacher pay. But I also addressed the new graduates that come out of our teacher training colleges. They were coming out with £23,000 a year. I increased that by 24%, to £30,000 a year.
“What we have been able to do now is build upon that. It is very difficult financially. In my 12 months as Minister there has not been a week that has passed that I haven’t been sitting down with my senior team talking about budgets, trying to manage all of that.
“We have been able to manage and now secure a significant increase for teachers. The formal offer is there. It’s 5.5%. That’s what was agreed in England.
“It is important that unions go through their process, but this has been hugely challenging for me to be even able to secure that funding when so many departments are underfunded.
“What has been important is trying to get normal industrial relations across our school estate.
“For years there was action short of strike which was corrosive to how the education system was able to operate. We didn’t have school inspections taking place, which is something which all of us should be deeply concerned about – that we couldn’t get into schools to ensure the right support for our children and young people.
“There isn’t more money on the table. I have had to identify £48m from within my department this year. Next year that will lead to an £83m increase in terms of the payroll for our teaching profession and that has been incredibly difficult. The ability for the Executive to provide further funding for this isn’t there.”
According to one union leader, the offer on the table for members does not include any commitment from unions to waive their right to strike in the future.
Graham Gault, the national secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said no trade union would ever give up “its sovereign and constitutional right to take industrial action” with the offer asking them to agree that “industrial action should only be taken as a last resort in any dispute”.
Speaking on BBC Good Morning Ulster Mr Gault said that accepting the offer does not rule out future strikes.
The was “a lot of misinformation on social media” about that aspect of the deal and he wanted members to “vote on the basis of truth instead of hysteria,” he added.
“Unions are asked to sign up to work collectively along with each other, the employing authorities and the department to create conditions in which industrial action isn’t required.
“The deal actually ties the department and the employing authorities into delivering improvements for the workforce,
“And should those conditions for the work force not continue to improve and programme of work not be delivered, actually there’s every possibility that there could be a dispute.”
While it’s understood unions are likely to recommend members accept the offer – though NAHT has made no recommendation either way and is allowing members to make up their own minds – the views of those members will be crucial to any agreement
A decision on the offer could be made by Thursday, and if it’s in favour, Mr Gault said teachers would “expect money to be in bank accounts by the end of the financial year”.