NJC Uplift agreed for Northern Ireland, England and Wales

The NJC pay uplift (covering NI, England and Wales) due since April 1st 2023, has finally been agreed.

We recently updated members on the long delay in resolving this issue. Efforts to improve on the offer were unsuccessful and it has taken some months to confirm that members of the negotiating unions would accept the initial offer.

We have now asked the Education Authority to confirm payment and make all necessary arrangements to ensure education workers are paid without delay.

Once this is done UNISON will seek to have this pay uplift applied to all other workers on employer specific contracts in EA funded schools i.e. VGS and Integrated Schools.

Our industrial action campaign for a fairer application of the NJC pay agreement continues. Members have been demanding reform of their pay system since 2019. This is a specific Northern Ireland issue, and the workers case has been lodged with both the EA and Department of Education for some time now. We have also made calls on the Secretary of State to open up a funding line to allow DE to support negotiations to resolve this issue.

UNISON members have been on action Short of strike since October 16th and are taking strike action on November 16th. They want to deliver a strong message to all that with or without a sitting Assembly or Executive a fair reform of their pay agreement has to be delivered. The sustainability of a dedicated workforce depends on a just resolution to their long standing demand.