The joint trade unions (UNISON, NIPSA, Unite, GMB), representing support staff in education are urging the public to join a protest against proposed education cuts and the Education Authority’s proposal to increase the price of school meals on Wednesday, 3rd December at 12:30 PM on the steps of Stormont.
UNISON Northern Ireland is supporting a petition by Act Now NI calling for the Minister for Education to step in and stop the increase in the cost of school meals, due to take effect in January. This follows the announcement of a number of cost saving measures by the Education Authority (EA) earlier this month including a 20% increase in the price of paid school meals.
Commenting on the petition launch, UNISON Regional Organiser Joe McCusker said:
Following announcements earlier this month by the Health Minister on funding for 2025/26 Agenda for Change (AfC) pay, UNISON entered further discussions with the Department of Health. It has been confirmed by the Department that it will proceed to put in place a consolidated 3.6% pay uplift for the AfC workforce, fully backdated to 1st April 2025. The Department has stated that this will be paid to the workforce in February 2026.
UNISON Northern Ireland is deeply concerned by today’s announcement from the Education Authority (EA) that it intends to take forward a number of saving measures this month, including increasing the price of paid school meals and reducing overtime payments.
Press release from the Anti-Poverty Strategy Group
Marking International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, 17th October 2025
The Executive must do whatever it takes to end poverty
The Anti-Poverty Strategy Group is marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to do whatever it takes to end poverty.
Members will have seen media reports that the NI Executive has allocated funding to the Department of Health towards 2025/26 Agenda for Change pay. This follows on from UNISON’s repeated calls for the Health Minister and Executive to deliver the full funding required for a pay uplift.
UNISON is extremely concerned that the link to pay parity for the health and social care workforce under Agenda for Change has been broken. The break in pay parity has occurred despite repeated commitments made by the Health Minister and Executive to pay parity. NHS workers in England received their 2025/26 pay uplift in August, backdated to 1st April, with workers in Northern Ireland still without any clarity as to when a pay uplift will be in place here.
Commenting on this, UNISON Head of Bargaining and Representation, John Patrick Clayton said:
Health Trade Unions are extremely disappointed that despite previous repeated commitments by the Health Minister and Executive to maintain pay parity for the health and social care workforce under Agenda for Change, the link to it has now been broken once again. NHS workers in England received their 2025/26 pay uplift in August, backdated to 1st April, with workers in Northern Ireland still without any clarity as to when a pay uplift will be in place here.
Health Trade Unions have met with the Minister of Health Mike Nesbitt MLA to discuss the actions he is taking to secure funding for a 2025/26 pay uplift for the Agenda for Change (AfC) workforce, following the recommendations made by the Pay Review Body.
The Minister outlined the steps he had taken to date to secure the funding required for a pay uplift and that the issue is now with the NI Executive for consideration.
