Industrial Action Campaign

APRIL 2020: Pay & Workload Offer

Following our ongoing Industrial Action Campaign, Management Side made a formal Pay & Workload Offer to our members in April 2020.

INTO conducted an online poll in which our members voted to accept this offer:

  • Turnout was 74%
  • Those in favour of accepting the offer:  67%
  • Those against accepting the offer:  33%

The Northern Committee wishes to thank our members for their engagement and participation in the online process.  The very large result in favour demonstrates the membership have a high degree of confidence in the Committee’s strategy for delivering pay and workload improvements. INTO will build on this and continue to deliver for the membership.

OCTOBER 2019: INTO Directive: ETI Advice for Members

INTO members are directed to continue, until further notice, to withdraw co-operation from the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI):

SEPTEMBER 2019: Modifications to Industrial Action

Despite the ongoing engagement with Management Side in an attempt to resolve the current dispute, no formal written offer on the outcome of the talks has been forthcoming. INTO must therefore instruct all members that the current industrial action remains in place until such settlement is reached.

JUNE 2019: Joint Statement from Management Side of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee and the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC)

Management and Trade Union Sides of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC) have secured an agreement, in principle, which has the potential to resolve the long running industrial dispute(s) on teachers' pay and workload.

The agreement is subject to appropriate approvals from individual Teachers' Unions, the Department of Education, the Department of Finance and the securing of the necessary funding.

While details of the proposed agreement cannot be made available at this stage, upon receipt of a formal offer, the individual Teachers' Unions represented on the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) will make their own arrangements for consultation with their members.

The formal offer, if accepted, will bring an end to the current industrial action in relation to teachers' pay and workload. In the eventuality of a formal offer being agreed, there will be a carefully managed and supported transition towards revised working practices in schools.

NOVEMBER 2018: Modifications to Industrial Action

Following intensive engagement with our membership during recent branch meetings and bearing in mind that we continue to engage with Management Side to find a resolution to the pay dispute, we have decided to make a few modifications to the industrial action.

These changes will take effect from 1st November 2018. INTO will continue to seek a resolution, but we are also very clear that we are prepared to quickly increase our industrial action should a resolution become impossible. Therefore, from 1st November 2018, until notified to the contrary, INTO members are instructed to continue with action short of strike at system level and at individual school level including the following modifications as detailed in our latest bulletins below:

2018-19: Bulletin 3: Part 1 (PDF)
Modifications to Industrial Action: System Level

2018-19: Bulletin 3: Part 1 (PDF)
Modifications to Industrial Action: System Level: Irish Version

2018-19: Bulletin 3: Part 2 (PDF)
Modifications to Industrial Action: School Level

2018-19: Bulletin 3: Part 2 (PDF)
Modifications to Industrial Action: School Level: Irish Version

SEPTEMBER 2018: Industrial Action Continues

INTO congratulates our members on their stalwart support for the continuing industrial action in support of your reasonable demands for improved pay and a more manageable workload. INTO has been engaged since January 2018 in efforts to resolve the disputes, in the areas of Pay, Workload and Assessment, to date these efforts have proved unsuccessful in securing a satisfactory resolution, and therefore, from Monday 3 rd September 2018, until notified to the contrary, INTO members are instructed to continue their support for and participation in the industrial action in relation to three areas of:

  • Workload
  • Assessment
  • Pay and Conditions

For the latest information on our continuing campaign of industrial action please download our latest bulletin:

2018-19: Bulletin 1 (PDF)
Industrial Action Continues: September 2018

2018-19: Bullaitín 1 (PDF)
Industrial Action Continues: September 2018: Irish Version

MAY 2018: Update Briefing for Members

Negotiations are ongoing between the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council [NITC] which INTO is a key member of, the management bodies and the Department of Education. While some progress has been made regarding issues around workload a number of significant issues central to the current dispute remain unresolved.

INTO is aware of rumours circulating that point to an imminent resolution of the ongoing dispute. These rumours are without foundation and INTO cautions against such speculation. Our current industrial action which is solidly supported by the membership remains in place
and unchanged.

INTO, on your behalf, continues to work towards a settlement that is acceptable to you the members and which addresses the issues of pay and workload in a meaningful way. Members will continue to be informed by INTO of any developments impacting on the industrial action or regarding a possible future settlement if and when circumstances change.

MARCH 2018: Negotiations Update

The NITC of which the INTO is a constituent part, is negotiating with the Management Bodies and DENI with a view to arriving at an agreed resolution to the long running industrial relations dispute in the education sector. These negotiations are at an early stage and are focused on pay and workload. The INTO, Northern Committee, is determined to bring about a resolution that will see teachers’ concerns on pay and workload addressed in a manner acceptable to INTO members. The participants to the negotiations are bound by confidentiality whilst the negotiations remain live. INTO will be fully briefing members as soon as it is practical to do so meanwhile all the industrial action remains in place.

SEPTEMBER 2017: Industrial Action Update

INTO congratulates our members on their stalwart support for the continuing action against the ongoing attacks on the education system arising from the savage cuts to the education sector.

INTO members continue to be on industrial action in relation to three areas:

  • Workload
  • Pay and Conditions
  • Assessment

For the latest on these three areas of action please download our latest bulletins below:

2017-18: Bulletin 1 (PDF)
Industrial Action: Workload

2017-18: Bullaitín 1 (PDF)
Industrial Action: Workload: Irish Version

2017-18: Bulletin 2 (PDF)
Industrial Action: Pay & Conditions

2017-18: Bullaitín 2 (PDF)
Industrial Action: Pay & Conditions: Irish Version

2017-18: Bulletin 3 (PDF)
Industrial Action: Assessment

2017-18: Bullaitín 3 (pdf)
Industrial Action: Assessment: Irish Version

October 2016: Action Short of Strike Update (PDF)
Effective from 24 October 2016