There is growing anger among teachers who say they have been left feeling sidelined by the last-minute decision from unions to abandon action short of strike last week.
Members of the four unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland had been set to take part in action short of strike from Monday for four weeks.
Last week, the unions announced that the action had been suspended in an effort to “successfully conclude negotiations”.
It’s understood teachers were caught unaware by the pause to expected industrial action, with many now saying that decision has weakened their position in pay negotiations after they had voted in large numbers in favour of the action before Christmas.
Some took to social media to vent their frustrations at the development, claiming the unions “no longer represent the views of members” having agreed to suspend action that members had backed.
It’s also understood the decision has prompted concerns that disgruntled members will reject any pay offer that does emerge in the next four weeks over the way the negotiations have been handled.
With members questioning the priorities of unions, some are concerned they are “cosying up” to top management in allowing a four-week period for an offer to be brought forward.
At least one union has written to members in a bid to quell the discontent as talks are set to continue over the next three weeks.
In a letter to members, seen by the Belfast Telegraph, the NASUWT said: “I know many of you have questions about what will happen next regarding pay, and some may still be uncertain as to why the union decided to pause action short of strike action.
“Unlike in England, pay in Northern Ireland is negotiated collectively at the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) between Management Side and the five unions who make up the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC).”
A TNC subgroup is made up of one representative from each union, employer and Department of Education (DE). In theory, the NITC and the Management Side agree on an increase, which the minister then approves.
“In practice, however, the minister must work within Executive pay policy and, ultimately, the Executive budget. For some time now, it has been Management Side policy not to implement an increase while unions are engaged in industrial action.
“When progress cannot be made through negotiation, unions may resort to industrial action to force change on pay or terms and conditions.”
The letter goes on to say that in July last year, the School Teachers’ Review Body in England had recommended a 5.5% increase for teachers there.
It added that, despite the NITC claim being for 13.6%, no offer had been made from Management Side as the new academic year began.
The letter added that the union had made it clear that if no offer was received by the end of October, it would ballot their members.
“We balloted our members in November, and 99% of you indicated that you were prepared to take action short of strike action, while 90% supported strike action,” the letter continued.
“As not enough progress had been made, we called on you to take action short of strike starting this week.”
The letter went on to say that since then, the position of the Education Minister had changed, who on January 9 indicated that “a formal offer would be made within four weeks”.
“It wasn’t until Friday lunchtime that all parties confirmed their agreement. This change occurred because the minister recognised the determination of teachers and understood that he could not offer less than the 5.5% agreed in England and Wales,” the letter to members added.
“While this campaign is focused on pay, everyone is mindful of the ‘elephant in the room’, which is workload. The purpose of action short of strike is not merely to take action, but to force meaningful change from the employers. Although this ballot was specifically on pay, discussions regarding workload are ongoing.
“When the minister refers to a period of industrial peace, he knows that the NASUWT is firm in stating that this will only happen if teachers believe that workload is being properly addressed.
“There are no circumstances in which the union could agree to a pay offer that would limit the rights of members to take action in the future. The minister must create conditions where teachers do not feel compelled to take further action.
“Many members have asked if this pause can be repeated. Legally, the answer is no; the law only allows for an extension of four weeks to take industrial action.
“At the end of those four weeks, either a deal must be in place or we will proceed with action. If no agreement is reached, we would need to re-run the ballot. This would not be in our interests.”
The letter to members concluded by saying that when an offer is made, members will have the opportunity to decide whether they want to accept it, and that “significant developments” will be shared with members.
Members of the four main teaching unions had voted to take part in industrial action in December.
The action short of strike action had been expected to commence on Monday after unions said teachers had not been offered a satisfactory pay increase for the 2024/25 academic year.
All four main teaching unions were contacted for comment.