Pay and grading review won by education support workers provides additional £130 million in pay over the next eight months

Members of Unite the union employed as school support staff by the Education Authority have won their industrial dispute over a pay and grading review. The majority of school support workers including bus drivers, classroom assistants, bus escorts, catering cleaning, admin and other school staff can expect to see a significant uplift to pay.

Over the last two years, low-paid education workers in Unite the union have repeatedly taken strike action in demand of a pay improvement. The union entered negotiations with management alongside the other three education trade unions seeking implementation of a pay and grading review. 

The pay award delivers significant increases to the pay of education workers over the next two and a half years and also compounds into members’ pensions and overtime. Entry-level pay rates will be sharply increased which will both aid recruitment, addressing the staffing crisis in the sector, and raise morale.

The union has hailed the result as a historic win for education workers. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the outcome: 

“Education workers in Northern Ireland have won a very significant improvement to pay. Members of Unite have been on picket lines on and off for more than two years to achieve this outcome and have had the full support of the union in doing so.

“Without that powerful strike action, these workers would still be waiting for implementation of a pay and grading review first recommended in 2018. Once again, this result confirms that when Unite members get organised and stand up for themselves, they can win real improvements to their pay and conditions.”

Regional officer for the workforce is Kieran Ellison who said, 

“This is a genuine win for our members and for the education sector as a whole. Since this offer has already been agreed by two of the three remaining education trade unions, that provides a majority which means it will now be implemented. As a result, the total budget for pay of school support staff in Northern Ireland will increase by £130 million over the next eight months, with further incremental increases in April 2025, 2026 and 2027. This outcome ends our ongoing industrial dispute and confirms Unite’s role at the forefront of the fight to improve pay and conditions for school support workers in Northern Ireland.”

ENDS… 

For further information or to arrange an interview contact Donal O’Cofaigh, Unite Campaigns, Communications & Press (NI), tel. 07810 157926.