Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education for an update on a pay award for teachers.
(AQW 399/17-22)
Minister of Education: The Department of Education is not the employer of teachers. The Teachers’ Negotiating Committee is the recognised negotiating machinery for teachers’ terms and conditions, including pay; represented on the trade union side by the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council, which encompasses the five main teachers’ unions and on Management Side, by the main managing authorities, particularly the Education Authority, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, sectoral interests and the Department.
Management and Trade Union Sides of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee reached an agreement in principle in June 2019 which has the potential to resolve the teachers’ pay dispute. A formal offer cannot be made yet to teachers’ unions because of the requirement for Department of Finance approval and funding cover. A case for funding has already been made to the Department of Finance which covers initial funding as well as the additional impact on baseline resources. Allocation of funding is still under consideration and I am urgently progressing this in order to implement a teachers’ pay award for 2017-18 and 2018-19.
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