TEACHERS’ unions in Northern Ireland are balloting their members for strike action because of the lack of “a satisfactory pay offer” for next year.

The NASUWT, INTO and the UTU may well be joined by the National Education Union, which is consulting members over whether they should hold an industrial action ballot.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the unions said they had told the Stormont Education Minister Paul Girvan that “he needs to make a satisfactory offer on pay” to teachers.

The NASUWT’s Justin McCamphill said: “Teachers in Northern Ireland have watched since the summer as their counterparts in the rest of the UK have received significant pay increases for this academic year and are telling us that they are fed up with being left behind.”

Teachers in England received a pay increase of 5.5 per cent for 2024-25. But Stormont have indicated that there may only be around 3 per cent available in Northern Ireland which unions say will not be nearly enough.

Officials recently reported a shortfall of £190 million to pay for “inescapable pressures,” such as supporting students with special educational needs and funding teachers’ pay.

Mr Girvan said any proposed pay deal for teachers must be “affordable,” adding that this was “difficult given current financial pressures.”

The teachers’ ballot will close in the first week of December.