Teachers: pay offer accepted by unions in Northern Ireland

Teachers across Northern Ireland have accepted a new pay deal, it emerged today (Friday).

Education Minister Paul Givan welcomed the decision by the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) to accept a 5.5% pay offer.

The pay settlement was agreed by the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) and brings to an end the ongoing industrial action.

Welcoming the decision, Education Minister Paul Givan said: “Intensive work had taken place to find the funding from within the 2024/25 education budget to enable us to offer a 5.5% pay increase. I am pleased that the five trade unions which make up the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council have now formally accepted this on behalf of their members.

“The pay settlement will see the starting salary for graduate teachers increasing to £31,650. This is an increase of £1,650 over the year and it follows on from the teachers’ pay settlement in April 2024 which saw the starting salary for teachers raised by almost 25%. New teachers are now being paid £7,513 more than the salary paid prior to the Executive returning last year.

“Today’s pay award reflects the value that I place on those working in education. It firmly demonstrates my support for teachers and recognises the vital contribution they make to children’s life chances.”

It is anticipated that the pay increase will be applied to most teachers in May and a full-time teacher on the starting salary would receive £1,237.50 in back pay (before statutory deductions) for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 May 2025.

Ulster Teachers’ Union members have welcomed the resolution of their pay negotiations.

“Negotiations over the last few months and especially the last couple of weeks have indeed been intense,” said Jacquie White, General Secretary of the UTU.

“Our union certainly never wanted industrial action and regrets the fact we feel it was ultimately forced upon us as teachers are being pushed beyond all acceptable workload limits.

“The sticking point since the previous offer last month focused on that workload issue and we welcome the fact that the Minister is finally seeking to formally address this, though we regret it could not have been resolved sooner.

“That his proposed Independent Review Panel is to include a union nominee is a positive step and we hope the findings of the panel will be constructive for our education system and our profession.

“We hope too that during this review the management side will be amenable to what we have to say.

“Education here is in crisis due in no small part to a decade of under-funding which teachers have struggled to bridge by taking on ever-growing workloads in tandem with mounting bureaucracy and paperwork.

“This alongside the fact that the teaching profession’s pay scales had fallen so drastically behind those of other professions meant the situation had become untenable as evidenced by the fact schools are increasingly unable to fill vacancies in even core subjects as graduates look elsewhere.

“We hope today’s decision will be the start of a shift in how our profession is viewed so teachers are indeed recognised for their commitment and hard work in nurturing and educating Northern Ireland’s next generation.”

A full-time teacher on Upper Pay Scale Point 3 would receive £1,913.25 in back pay (before statutory deductions) for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 May 2025.

Acknowledging the workload concerns that have been raised by teachers and school leaders, the Minister continued: “Constructive negotiations have taken place with trade unions and I have listened to their concerns about workload. I want to make meaningful progress on the issues to ensure that teachers have the time and space to focus on what matters most – teaching, learning and supporting pupils in the classroom.

“In order to seek to break the deadlock, I proposed a commission to conduct an Independent Review of all aspects of workload, that will be taken forward by a three-member panel, comprising an independent chair appointed by me, a member nominated by the unions and a member nominated by Management Side.

“The Panel will examine workload and report to me by the end of November 2025. It will also monitor the implementation of the Heads of Agreement commitments issued alongside the Management Side pay offer.”

The agreement comes after a series of recent meetings between the Education Minister and the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council. Management Side will now move to implement the offer with the award backdated to 1 September 2024.

Paul Givan concluded: “I recently launched a new education strategy, TransformED, which will reform and improve education delivery in Northern Ireland. It contains a range of commitments that are designed to drive improvement but also reduce workload.

“The end of industrial action will increase stability in our schools and provide the basis for continued improvement throughout the education sector.”