Education Minister Paul Givan has been warned that teachers will not tolerate further delay on workload reform and the patience of the profession must not be mistaken for weakness, members at the NASUWT Northern Ireland Annual Conference heard today.
In a keynote address to teachers, NASUWT Northern Ireland President Shaunagh Lambe said the Union had upheld every commitment it made while the Department of Education has failed to deliver meaningful progress.
Ms Lambe, a Principal of St Mary’s Primary School in Stewartstown said:
“We agreed to a period of industrial peace to allow the workload review process to take place. We entered that agreement in good faith. And we have honoured our side of that agreement.
“For the past academic year, teachers and school leaders have maintained an uninterrupted period of industrial stability while the review was carried out and recommendations developed.
“We have shown patience but patience must now be matched with progress.”
She told the Conference, being held at the La Mon Hotel near Belfast, that members expect “clear, credible progress on a new workload agreement”, alongside a collective grievance procedure and a realistic implementation timetable.
“Our members did not agree to a year of industrial stability simply for the outcome to be delay, deferral and disappointment.
“They agreed to it in good faith because they believed it would lead to real change in their working lives. And if that change is not delivered, then the voices of our members across Northern Ireland will make very clear what they think should happen next.
“The Minister and the Department should be under no illusion. We have shown patience. But they must not mistake patience for weakness. And they certainly must not mistake it for complacency. Because we have been holding a broken system together through goodwill for far too long. And goodwill is not a sustainable workforce strategy.”
The President said the pressures facing teachers across Northern Ireland were now intolerable, warning that the system is being held together only by the goodwill of staff who are already stretched beyond capacity.
She said: “We are firefighting in classrooms where the school estate is no longer fit for purpose. We are navigating inspection expectations, curriculum reform and ever-increasing workload.”
She highlighted that lecturers are being left behind on pay: “Lecturers continue to see their pay fall behind that of teachers despite the vital role they play. Lecturers continue to be paid less than their teaching colleagues elsewhere in the education system. That disparity is not fair, and it cannot be justified.”
The President said the motions brought to conference this year reflect the reality of a profession under extreme pressure:
“Workload reduction. Protected time for SENCOs. Abuse of teachers by parents. Safety in SPIM provisions. Misuse of restorative practice. Unsafe class splitting. Bereavement support for pupils. Digital harassment and covert recording of teachers. The condition of the school estate.”
She stressed: “These are not abstract policy debates. These motions come directly from our members.”
On Special Educational Needs, she said: “Attacks and injuries involving staff are increasing. Teachers are doing everything they can to support some of the most vulnerable children in our system. But they are doing so with insufficient resources. Insufficient training. And insufficient support. This system is under immense strain.”
And she made clear that the union will continue to stand up for fairness:
“Teachers and lecturers deserve better. Our pupils deserve better. And our education system deserves better We do not walk away from challenge. We do not stay silent when something isn’t right. And we do not stop fighting for fairness.
“When educators stand together, fairness is no longer just something we ask for. It is something we achieve.”
