Education Minister has welcomed a decision by
the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) to accept a 5.5%
pay offer for teachers.
The pay settlement was agreed by the Teachers' Negotiating
Committee (TNC) and will bring to an end the ongoing industrial
action.
Welcoming the decision, Education Minister 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.
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.
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.”
Notes to editors:
- The pay increase will cost £48.5m in 2024/25 with a recurring
full year cost of £83 million. This followed on from the
teachers' pay settlement in April 2024 which saw the starting
salary for teachers raised by almost 25% and other teachers pay
by an average of 12.5% at a cost of £170 million a year.
- Management Side of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee
submitted a revised formal offer to the Northern Ireland Teaching
Council (NITC) on 18 March 2025 to resolve the current industrial
dispute regarding teachers' pay.
- The offer includes a 5.5% cost of living increase
for teachers and a 5.5% increase in teaching and special needs
allowances from 1 September 2024, as well as wide-ranging
commitments on workload issues. A commitment to timeframes for
future pay offers was also included.
