The National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said last week that 79 per cent of its members had backed strike action, with 93.74 per cent endorsing industrial action short of a strike. Teachers in Northern Ireland want a back payment of 1,000 which they claim is owed to them for the year 2002-2003 to bring them back into line with England and Wales, costing an estimated 15m in total.
Aodh McCay, NASUWT president in Northern Ireland, said, 'This ballot means there will be no cover for fellow staff who are sick, on courses, or on a planned absence. The employers are saying there's no money, so where did the 15m go? They knew it was going to have to be paid. Teachers are angry about this.'
NASUWT general secretary Eamonn O'Kane said the result 'shows the deep sense of anger and frustration felt by members over the failure to maintain pay parity' and while he hoped strike action could be avoided, 'the employing authorities should be in no doubt about the determination of NASUWT members to support this action and strike action, should that be necessary'.
Since 1 January, in a move that has affected virtually every primary and secondary school in Northern Ireland, NASUWT members, in alliance with their colleagues in the Irish National Teachers Organisation, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the Ulster Teachers Union, have refused to attend meetings, have reduced the number of parents' evenings they attend and have not stayed in school after the pupils have gone home.
Elza Margrain, NASUWT regional organiser in Northern Ireland, said, 'It's the principle. We do the same job as teachers in England and Wales. There is no reason why teachers in this country should not be paid the same.'
She added, 'We have been waiting for the management side to come up with a sensible offer and our members are simply getting tired of waiting. We feel the management are dragging their feet, so we need to tighten the action.'
Ms Magrain also said that NASUWT had to decline an offer of conciliation talks at the Labour Relations Agency in the absence of a new management offer to resolve the dispute. She urged headteachers facing staff shortages as a result of any future action to voice their concerns to the employers and to press for a resolution of the dispute.
