Teacher's pay rise simply impossible, says minister

Giving teachers successful Northern Ireland the wage emergence unions person asked for is "simply impossible," according to the acquisition minister.

Paul Givan told assembly members that the teaching unions had asked for a 13.5% emergence successful 2024-25.

Givan besides told the assembly that acquisition authorities had formally asked the unions for ongoing onslaught ballots "to beryllium stood down".

But 1 of the largest unions, the NASUWT, told BBC News NI that it would "not beryllium withdrawing our ballot."

Answering a question from the Alliance assembly subordinate Danny Donnelly, Givan said the Northern Ireland unions wage assertion was "substantially higher" than the 5.5% emergence for teachers successful England.

"In enactment with the requirements of nationalist assemblage wage policy, immoderate proposals for a teachers wage grant indispensable beryllium affordable," helium said.

"This is proving hard to resoluteness fixed the pressures that are already faced wrong the acquisition budget."

Questioned aboriginal by his Democratic Unionist Party workfellow Diane Dodds, Givan said the section was £20m abbreviated of adjacent gathering a 5.5% rise.

"The teacher's wage assertion is not for 5.5%, it's for 13.5%," helium said.

"It is simply intolerable if members judge that this section tin present a 13.5% wage emergence this year."

"That is not achievable."

"I americium engaging successful bully religion with the unions to effort and get a palmy solution to this issue."

Reacting to the acquisition minister's comments, Justin McCamphill, NASUWT nationalist official, said: "Teachers successful Northern Ireland are not prepared to beryllium the lowest-paid teachers successful these islands.

"The curate needs to unafraid capable wealth truthful that an acceptable wage connection tin beryllium made to teachers successful bid to avert concern action.

"The NASUWT volition not beryllium withdrawing our ballot until specified clip arsenic an acceptable connection is made and accepted by our members."

Givan, though, besides told MLAs that "hundreds of millions" of pounds were besides needed to physique and support schoolhouse buildings.

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) precocious said schools were "deteriorating" and galore needed "significant repair".

"I tin lone bash truthful overmuch with the fund that is made disposable to me," the curate said.

"There has not been the backing implicit galore years to spell into the schoolhouse estate.

"There is simply a backlog of hundreds of millions of pounds.

"There is simply a programme of works betwixt caller builds, schoolhouse enhancements, and what we request for peculiar acquisition implicit the adjacent 10 years that comes over, successful the portion of, astir £3bn.

"If we're superior astir our schoolhouse estate, we request to beryllium superior erstwhile it comes to the allocation of backing to the Department of Education."