FERMANAGH teachers are on the picket lines this morning for a half-day strike, with schools closed until after lunch.
Teaching staff from five unions are taking part in the strike action, which is being taken as part of a long-running dispute over pay, with teachers in the North not receiving a pay rise for almost three years.
The teachers are planning four more days of strike action after Christmas, while school support staff will be striking for 24 hours this Friday.
Teachers are represented by the Northern Ireland Teachers Council (NITC), which includes five unions – the NASUWT, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), Ulster Teachers’ Union (UTU), National Education Union (NEU) and NAHT.
Members of NASUWT in further education colleges are also taking part in the strike.
The teachers are demanding pay parity with their colleagues in Britain.
Justin McCamphill from NASUWT said members “do not want to hear any more excuses and are demanding that they are paid the same as any other teacher in the UK.”
“A Northern Ireland teacher is not worth less than an English or Scottish teacher,” he said.
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