Teachers are having to buy resources for their schools and pupils despite struggling with low pay during the cost of living crisis due to a lack of investment.
Thousands of teachers and civil servants gathered in Belfast City Hall for a rally as part of strike action across Northern Ireland on Wednesday, April 26, where they called on the Secretary of State and UK Government to meet with them over pay, investment and working conditions.
The industrial action has been the largest seen in Northern Ireland in more than 10 years.
One teacher at the rally highlighted the impact of recent cuts to the education budget and the lack of investment in schools saying: "teachers working conditions are your children's learning conditions."
Nine different unions took part in the strike action today, which saw schools closed and governmental departments shutdown, including; PCS, GMB, UNITE and all the teachers’ unions, UTU, NASUWT, INTO, NEU and NAHT.
Stevie Jenkins, teacher at Dominican College Fortwilliam and Chair of the Belfast Branch of INTO, said that there were three key reasons why teachers have taken strike action tody, teachers pay, the level of investment in education and the recruitment and retention of staff.
He said: "He said: "Teachers have suffered a 20% cut in pay since 2010, the largest out of any other public sector workers and it is time that we were treated fairly and paid the value that we are worth.
"We have mortgages, rent, childcare costs and other bills that we need to manage and it has not got to the point where many teachers are considered working poor.
"Compared to other parts of the UK and Ireland, teachers are paid considerably less despite doing the same valuable work and teachers here should not be treated differently to anywhere else.
"The shortfall in pay is also creating additional pressure within education as the recruitment and retention of new teachers is becoming very difficult when they are able to go to other countries and get paid more for the same work."
Siobhan McElhinney, Chair of the Northern Branch of the INTO, said that cuts to budgets and a lack of investment were another key factor in the strikes and highlighted the measures that teachers are going to in order to plug funding gaps.
She said: "Despite the financial pressures that teachers are under they are still doing all they can to support their students and it is a regular occurance every September than you will find teachers buying pencil cases, prit-sticks, pencils and workbooks for their pupils because there are not enough resources for them in the classroom.
"On top of this there are significant staffing issues with some 471 teachers now out of the system and schools are struggling to find coverage with subsitute teachers as there is not enough money available in their budgets for them.
"The cuts to the extended schools programme for example will also have a huge impact on our pupils as they will now lose out on breakfast clubs and after school activities that can make such a difference for their education, especially during the cost of living crisis.
"People need to understand that teachers' working conditions are your children's learning conditions and it is their futures that will be affected."
NEU member Edel McInerney said:“For the parents reading this, you might not know why teachers have taken this action.
"But what you do know is that we try to do our best for your children. To give them a good education and make school a warm and welcoming community, where staff know and understand them and you. Where we give them continuity and stability, with enough specialist teachers, who know their subjects. And the proper resources to help them learn and grow.
"Schools have too many vacancies. Principals tell us of vital subjects – maths, science, computing, languages – with unfilled posts and existing staff delivering lessons outside their subject every single day. Supply teachers are harder to secure.
"Managing with fewer staff also means we can’t give enough personal support if your children need extra help. And it means they have reduced access to sports, drama, music and other activities that make the week for a lot of pupils.
"We don’t want to be on strike. We’d rather be in the classroom, getting on with what we do best– teaching and supporting the children of Northern Ireland. But we can’t stand by and see our colleagues experience hardship with yet another real-terms pay cut.”
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