Belfast, 15 October 2026 - Education Support Staff Trade Unions are extremely concerned that the Education Minister has not yet given approval for the Education Authority (EA) to implement the NJC pay award of 3.3%, following NJC pay being settled in August.
This is despite the commitment from the Department of Education (DE) since 2015 for workers to receive their contractual and legal entitlements to pay awards when they fall due.
Education workers in other UK regions have received their 2026/27 3.3% pay uplift, backdated to 1st April, with EA employees in Northern Ireland still without any clarity as to when the pay uplift will be in place here.
This means that a promise made by DE that pay awards would be implemented when they fall due is now broken. Education workers are extremely frustrated and angry at the failure of the Education Minister and DE to implement their contractual entitlement to the pay award.
Education Support Staff Trade Unions wrote to the Education Minister, Paul Givan, last week requesting that he gives urgent attention to approving the NJC pay award. The Education Minister has responded that in the absence of an agreed Executive Budget for 2026/27, the pay award remains part of wider Executive discussions around public-sector pay and he is not in a position to provide approval to implement the award.
Education Support Staff Trade Unions have repeatedly expressed our serious concerns at the inadequate funding available for education services and want to see a budget that delivers against the level of need. But we are very clear that NJC pay is a contractual and legal entitlement and cannot be held back by the delays in the NI Executive agreeing a budget.
The Education Minister must recognise the contractual right of the workforce and give approval to the EA to implement the pay award. The Minister should further make funding available for Voluntary Grammar Schools and Grant Maintained Schools to implement the pay award.
Any further delay in implementing the pay award risks exacerbating difficulties in recruiting and retaining the workforce and damaging workforce morale. The Education Minister should demonstrate that he values the immense contribution made by the many thousands of Education workers delivering services across our education system.
Education workers will not accept their contractual rights being denied and cannot be caught in the middle of the ongoing budgetary issues. The longer the Education Minister delays on giving approval for the NJC pay award, the greater the potential of industrial action becomes.
Education Support Staff Trade Unions are now seeking an urgent meeting with the Education Minister for the immediate approval of the NJC pay award for Education workers.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Education Support Staff Trade Union Side comprises NIPSA, UNISON, GMB and UNITE and represents thousands of non-teaching education workers across Northern Ireland.
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Education support staff working with pupils in a classroom setting.