Teachers set to begin industrial action next week over pay rises

TEACHERS will begin industrial action short of strike action this coming Monday in their latest attempt for a fair and just pay rise.

It comes after five teacher unions displayed an unprecedented show of unity and were co-ordinating their balloting processes and will now embark on an agreed programme of action.

Belleek teacher, Marie O’shea, who is Western Primary School representative in the Northern Committee of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said the results from the balloting of their members showed the Union had a strong mandate going forward.

Ms. O’shea explained how 98 per cent of members voted for action short of strike action while 85 per cent voted for strike action.

“They want to see something happening and want to see something done and they are not very happy about the response to date from the management side and the Department [of Education] in relation to addressing the pay concerns that we have,” she explained.

From Monday, October 17 the first phase of industrial action will begin and Ms. O’shea explained how there will be two further opportunities between now and

Christmas for management and the department to come to the table with a fair and equitable response.

System depends on teachers

She said the industrial action will highlight how much the system depends on teachers but at the same time will not impact teaching and learning: “It’s about impacting on the system as opposed to impacting on the children and the key function of education which is teaching and learning.

“We don’t want that impacted to any great degree but we want the system to realise that if teachers only do what they have to do, there are a lot of things left not done because of the way that the system is worked out.

“We are doing everything we have to do and more with it and there’s really very little regard for us as a profession and that is what we are at the end of the day, we are professional workers.

“We need to be treated in that way and we just feel at the minute we are not. There is no value on us in education.

“And really and truly without the teachers and support staff within schools, nothing would happen.”

Ms. O’shea said the actions are teachers “drawing a line in the sand and saying we want to be respected, we want to be valued and we want you to show us you know our worth in the system”.

Looking at the unprecedented unity of the five teacher unions, Ms. O’shea said it is a strength for teachers: “It stands to us that everybody’s speaking from the same place and there are equal concerns no matter what Unions you speak to, no matter what teacher in what school everybody has the same mindset on it.

“This has gone on for too long and we’ve never found ourselves in the position we have been in with ever having everybody coming from the same angle at the same time. So that’s a strength we feel moving forward.”

While strike action has not been ruled out, it is the last resort says Ms. O’shea but with management and the department having three opportunities to step in on industrial action: “We want the functionality of schools to remain as much in place as possible.

“The strike action is there as our last resort. We want to have exhausted every other avenue of conversation and try to move this agenda forward for the teachers before we would take that point,” said Ms. O’shea.