29th March 2022
Unite the Union has given notice of strike action by its members to commence on 21 March 2022, across a number of employers including the Education Authority. INTO offers the following advice to our members in relation to this matter:
- When members of NIC-ICTU affiliated trade unions are involved in industrial action INTO members should report for work as normal.
- In these circumstances INTO members should not accept any additional work or variation to their contracted duties.
- In this regard INTO members are advised that they should not take on the duties of colleagues who are engaged in lawful industrial
- School leaders, in conjunction with Boards of Governors, must assess how the potential absence of staff due to industrial action will impact on the overall health and safety requirements and therefore whether or not the school can be opened, either partially or fully, without compromising the safety of attending staff and pupils. (INTO advise that school managers should contact their individual Employing Authorities for advice in relation to this matter).
- Due to anti-trade union legislation currently in place, INTO are legally compelled to advise our members that where a trade union establishes an official picket line, refusal to cross it would render a teacher liable to disciplinary action, including the deduction of salary.
Members requiring further advice or guidance relating to this issue should contact their Northern Committee Representative in the first instance.