Thousands of education and healthcare workers in Northern Ireland took part in strikes on Tuesday.
Four teachers’ unions participated in a half-day strike over pay – their first strike in six years – with most schools closed until midday.
For the healthcare and public sector unions, Unite, Unison, Nipsa and GMB, this is another move in a wage dispute.
Teachers, nurses, ambulances and hospital staff have been picketing.
The Department of Education said guidance had been issued to help school leaders assess and prepare for strike action.
The Department of Health said it fully understands staff frustration but said there was no scope for a local-level solution.
The four teacher unions involved are the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT); the Irish National Teachers’ Organization (INTO); the Ulster Teachers Union (UTU) and the National Education Union (NEU).
NASUWT is demanding a 12% pay rise after a wage deal stalled last year.
In Northern Ireland, many teachers have been offered a 3.2% pay rise in 2021/22 and 2022/23,
dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said teachers were given no choice.
“Our members are not willing to sit idly by while their pay packages shrink and their cost of living increases,” he said.
“The Department of Education and employers must come up with a much improved salary offer if they want to end this dispute.”
Speaking at Belfast City Hall, teacher Emer Bloomer described the strike as a “show of solidarity”.
“All unions are joining together to say that none of us are happy right now, that this cannot go on and something needs to be done,” she added.
Health workers Orlaigh Sewell and Lisa Heaney said they were striking “to save the NHS”.
“They’re taking it down bit by bit,” Orlaigh explained. “At the end of the day, it has to be safe for patients.”
Health visitor Lisa Heaney added: “There are more demands, more support is needed for the families we will be visiting and we don’t have the staff to make that possible.”
Fionnuala McTaggart, who has been teaching in North Belfast for three years, said her workload has increased noticeably, which can be “really overwhelming at times”.
Her school, along with many others, opened from 12:00 GMT to allow children access to free school meals.
“It’s not such an easy job that people make of it, not only are you out and about with kids all day, you’re doing real work that’s hard and meaningful and important,” she told BBC News NI.
Negotiations can continue, but without Stormont and an executive and extra money in the education budget, it’s hard to see how this teacher pay dispute will be resolved anytime soon.
The problem is that we don’t know where the money for a revised collective agreement would come from.
The Ministry of Education has pointed out that the education budget is under severe pressure.
So unless there’s a big chunk of extra money to actually give teachers another deal that unions would be happy with — and they’re after a raise in inflation — it’s hard to see how this will be resolved any time soon.
This may only be the first action of many, but without Stormont it’s hard to see who will actually be listening or what this strike action will achieve today.
Edel McInerney, vice-president of NEW Northern Ireland, said: “It was such a paltry sum that was offered that it is actually a pay cut they are offering us, not a pay deal – we are looking for fair pay.
“She [the Department of Education] need to think outside the box, they need to see where money can be saved so that the heart of education – the teachers – are properly rewarded,” she said.
INTO’s Gerry Murphy said teachers had been backed into a corner, while UTU’s Jacqui White said the unprecedented move was a reflection of the strength of the sentiment.
The Department of Education said there has been active engagement between managers and teachers over pay.
However, the statement said the negotiations are taking place at a time of growing and unprecedented financial pressures in the education sector.
Management continues to strive to reach a solution that will ensure teachers are paid fairly.
Teachers are joined by health union workers at a series of rallies across Northern Ireland.
Workers were told they would receive a £1,400 wage premium for 2022-23, but unions said it wouldn’t settle the dispute as it was lower than inflation.
In January, more than 20,000 healthcare workers in Northern Ireland took part in a day-long strike.
The health ministry said the strikes would undoubtedly affect patient care.
However, it added that it fully understands the frustration of staff who have continued to work under extremely difficult circumstances.
“This is a national dispute that can only be resolved at the national level. Northern Ireland has an equal pay policy with English HSC workers who fall within the framework of the Agenda for Change,” the ministry said.
“Given this political position, the absence of ministers and the current budgetary realities, there is no scope for a solution at the local level.”
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