Teachers in Northern Ireland accept pay offer

Following two rejected pay offers, teacher unions in Northern Ireland have accepted a revised pay increase of 5.5 per cent for 2024-25, ceasing the threat of a potential strike.

The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC), which represents the five teaching unions, have agreed to accept the offer.

The pay increase is expected to cost Stormont £48.5 million in 2024-25, with a recurring full year cost of £83 million. This follows the teachers’ pay settlement in April 2024 which saw the starting teachers’ salary raised by almost 25 per cent and other teachers pay by an average of 12.5 per cent at a cost of £170 million each year.

Consequently, graduate teachers will see their salary raised from £30,000 to £31,650, while teachers higher up the pay scale will receive rises of around £2.000-2,500 each year.

Welcoming the decision, education minister Paul Givan 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 per cent 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 from the teachers’ pay settlement in April 2024 which saw the starting salary for teachers raised by almost 25 per cent. New teachers are now being paid £7,513 more than the salary paid prior to the Executive returning last year.”