Possible teachers’ strike looms in Northern Ireland as another union to ballot members

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) announced on Tuesday that it is following the NASUWT trade union and asking members if they are prepared to go on strike over pay.

NASUWT, the largest of several teaching unions in Northern Ireland, opened a ballot on possible strike action in March and 80% of members voted in favour of a strike.

In May, the union began industrial action short of a strike but NASUWT has so far refused to rule out a move to an all-out strike if a deal can’t be reached on pay and terms and conditions.

INTO, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that its ballot will open next month,

A spokesperson for the union, which has members in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, said: “Thousands of teachers could, early in the autumn term, be either taking strike action or working to rule in protest at the prolonged erosion of their pay coupled with increasing levels of unmanageable workload.”

The union’s northern secretary, Gerry Murphy, said: “The real value of teachers’ pay has been continually eroded since 2010, firstly with the disastrous austerity measures, and now in the guise of a 1% public pay policy which means our members are struggling to keep pace with a near double digit inflation rise.”

He added: “We are demanding a rise in pay that is in keeping with the rise in inflation and reflects our members’ contribution to society.”

Teachers could be the next group of workers to go on strike following widespread industrial discontent across the UK amid soaring inflation and a crisis in the cost of living.

Earlier this week, the NASUWT warned it is committed to balloting members for industrial action in the autumn in England and Wales if a proposed pay deal remains unchanged.

Nurses, meanwhile, could also be set to strike elsewhere in the UK after the Royal College of Nursing announced that it would open a ballot of its members in England, Scotland and Wales on possible strike action. There is no ballot planned in Northern Ireland, however, where health unions are still awaiting a pay offer amid the ongoing political deadlock at Stormont.

Workers in the private sector, too, have been engaged in strike action in several workplaces – including an ongoing strike by members of the Unite trade union at DHL Services in Northern Ireland.

There have also been strikes at Caterpillar sites in Northern Ireland and other manufacturing firms.