An agreement has been secured to resolve a long-running dispute over pay and grading for school support workers, Education Minister Paul Givan has said. The minister said school support staff would now receive a “significant investment in pay”.

Thousands of non-teaching support staff have been involved in industrial action as part of the dispute with employers over pay and grading.

The non-teaching staff – including bus drivers, classroom assistants and cleaning and canteen staff – took part in three days of strike action in May.

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Mr Givan said trade unions had now accepted a pay and grading agreement. He said: “I am pleased to be able to confirm that all the education support staff unions have accepted the proposed agreement to resolve this long running pay and grading dispute.”

Unions GMB, Nipsa, Unison and Unite had been undertaking individual consultations over the summer months.

Mr Givan added: “The resolution of this dispute will provide relief to our school support staff who will appreciate the benefits of this significant investment in pay.

“They deserve to be paid appropriately for the extremely important work they do, and the restructured pay scales will also improve the recruitment and retention of staff in the future. I welcome that all forms of industrial action have now ceased.”

While teaching unions in Northern Ireland accepted a pay offer earlier this year, agreement was not reached at the time with support staff.

Unions had said support staff are among the lowest paid workers in the education sector, stating many are paid less than the current national minimum wage.

The Pay and Grading Agreement

The deal, which affects about 20,000 staff, includes the regrading of staff, backdated to 1 April, and a one-off lump sum payment of £2,500 to every member of staff, coming in the next financial year. It should also lead to pay rises for the staff, who are among the lowest paid in the education system with some currently earning less than £12 an hour.

Welcoming the Agreement

Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy has welcomed agreement between trade unions and the Education Authority to implement the Pay and Grading Review. He said: “It’s great news that unions and the Education Authority have reached an agreement to pay educational support staff a fair wage.

“This follows positive engagement between the finance and education ministers who worked constructively to find a resolution to this matter.

“Support staff in our schools are a vital pillar to ensuring our children and young people have a first-class education and the very best start to life.

“All our public sector workers deserve to have fair pay and good working conditions.”

A Positive Outcome

The agreement marks a positive outcome for both the support staff and the education sector as a whole. The improved pay and conditions will help to attract and retain qualified and dedicated individuals, ensuring that schools can continue to provide a high standard of education for all students.

This agreement is a testament to the power of collective bargaining and the importance of fair wages for all workers. It is hoped that this will set a positive precedent for future negotiations in the education sector and beyond.