SDLP urges ministers to listen to teachers’ concerns

The Social Democratic and Labour Party’s spokesperson for education, Cara Hunter MLA, has urged that the concerns of teachers must be listened to by the education minister, employers and executives. 

The deputy mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s comment comes after teaching unions rejected a 5.5% pay offer. 

Hunter said: “The current impasse between the education minister, employers and teaching unions reflects the total and utter failure of successive ministers to listen to the concerns of teachers and agree a deal that delivers improved working conditions alongside a fair pay offer.”

She blamed expanding classroom sizes, reduced funding and aging resources in schools as the biggest stressors for teachers, as well as the lack of opportunities for career progression and development which makes more teachers feel demoralised. 

However, Hunter believes ministers still have time to engage with teaching unions and reach a deal that averts strike actions. 

She added: “The last thing any of us want to see is disruption to children’s education, but that won’t be achieved by the current stalemate. There remains a stark contradiction between the minister’s rhetoric and his actions, lauding the role that teachers play in delivering educational excellence, while failing to offer an agreement they find acceptable.

“We need to see an approach that addresses these issues in the long-term and stops teachers feeling they have no other option but to move elsewhere where they have the potential to earn considerably more or even deciding to leave the profession altogether. This also sends the wrong message to the next generation of potential teachers who may think twice about taking up the profession.”