Children to benefit from Irish teachers proposed new pay offer
Under a new pay offer newly qualified teachers in Northern Ireland could receive a starting salary worth £30K. If they accept, it means children will no longer miss out on education.
As a result of fresh pay negotiations, the five teaching unions in Northern Ireland have agreed to postpone any further action. Previously, they have been involved in long-running strikes over pay disputes.
Teachers in the country have not had a pay rise for three years, however from 1st September 2023 the starting salary will rise to £30,000 representing a 24.3% increase over the three-year period of this offer. This means teachers in Ireland will be paid the same as those in England.
Today, Monday 11th March 2024, Mr Givan outlined a formal offer on teachers’ pay for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
He said: ‘It is unacceptable that teachers have been waiting three years for a pay increase.
‘I have made it clear that my highest priority is to ensure that the teaching profession is paid at a rate which recognises the value of their profession.
‘This is a positive step in that direction, and I commend the positive negotiations that have taken place within the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) which consists of management and the trade unions representing teachers and school leaders.’
Following this offer, the unions which now make up the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) will now consult with their members in advance of any formal acceptance.
In response to this, Mr Givan has claimed that accepting the offer would ‘create the opportunity to stabilise our education system and allow us to build upon this in the delivery of world class education in Northern Ireland.’
As well as this pay offer benefiting teachers, by accepting it children will also experience positive effects. Endless amounts of strike action means pupils are missing out on vital learning opportunities.
At the beginning of this year Niall Deeney wrote an article for Belfast Live explaining that his eight-year-old son has autism and majorly struggles with disruption in routine which is projected by bursts of anger and upset. Although parents and perhaps other pupils can understand that teachers are frustrated with the government for not paying education staff enough, Niall explains his son is just left confused when the ‘big yellow bus’ fails to show up some mornings to take him to school.
Image: Anita Jankovic
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