Action needed on pay gap for Northern Irish teachers

Community is pressing the Department for Education to take action on the growing pay gap between Northern Irish educators’ and their counterparts in other UK nations. It is now three years since Northern Irish teachers received a pay rise, with the average pay for a newly-qualified teacher in the province now averaging around £24,000 – some £6,000 less than the average in England.

Graham Agnew, Branch Chair of Community Union’s Education Branch in Northern Ireland, has written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Chris Heaton-Harris MP – asking for an ‘urgent political intervention’ to resolve the situation. You can read the letter here.

Helen Osgood, Community Union’s National Officer for Education. said:

“Teachers in Northern Ireland have suffered both from the absence of functioning executive in Stormont for over 2 years, and a UK Conservative government which has cynically used the political stasis as an excuse to brush away the concerns of thousands of public sector workers. It’s not good enough, and Northern Irish teachers – public servants who have helped maintain the vital everyday functions of the state at a time of huge uncertainty – deserve so much better than they are getting.

“Our members have been clear that they want to see a political solution to this unacceptable situation as soon as possible, and that means the UK Government need to act swiftly to release funding to address lagging public sector pay in Northern Ireland.”