Teachers across Northern Ireland will begin industrial action short of a strike from Monday 28 September 2026, after the five unions on the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) told the Department of Education and Management Side that talks on workload have not delivered the reductions sought.
The dispute centres on implementing the 27 recommendations of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload. Schools are not closing. The action is aimed at unpaid “goodwill” work rather than emptying classrooms — but Belfast parents should still expect pressure on clubs, meetings, cover and out-of-hours contact.
NITC’s unions — NASUWT, UTU, NAHT, INTO and NEU — say they engaged constructively with the Department and Management Side. A council statement said they had been unable to secure a resolution to reduce workload for teachers and school leaders, and that constituent members had informed the Department and Management Side of their intention to begin industrial action from Monday 28 September 2026.
The Ulster Teachers’ Union confirms its action short of strike starts at 00:01 on 28 September. That follows a September ballot in which UTU members voted overwhelmingly for strike action and for action short of strike — part of the wider mandate LoveBelfast covered when NI teachers backed industrial action over workload.
What the unions say
NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said: “The purpose of these negotiations was to reduce excessive workload and begin restoring some balance to the working lives of teachers and school leaders.”
“Yet management side could not even agree to a short period of restraint across the system that would have created the conditions needed for schools to plan properly for the implementation of changes that everyone accepts are necessary.”
INTO northern secretary Mark McTaggart said: “A credible implementation plan for the 27 recommendations has not, to date, been forthcoming which would have given our members significant improvements in their work/life balance, as envisaged by the Independent Teacher Workload Review panel.”
UTU general secretary Jacquie White said she believes the issues can still be resolved through agreement. “Any agreement must deliver practical and lasting improvements for teachers, school leaders, and ultimately the young people they serve.”
Dr Graham Gault, national secretary of NAHT NI, said members had reached the point where “they can no longer continue working in conditions that are unsafe, unsustainable and professionally indefensible.”
“Unfortunately, despite every opportunity being afforded to them, employers and the department have been unable to produce a package capable of addressing the crisis facing school leadership.”
Management Side and the minister
Teachers’ Negotiating Committee Management Side says agreement in principle was reached on eight of 11 issues raised by NITC, with further work needed on the remaining three and on a robust implementation plan. It asked for a further four weeks; NITC declined. Management Side said the unions’ decision was “disappointing and difficult to understand,” warned that a return to action short of strike “disrupts teaching and learning, extra-curricular activity, and the wider school experience,” and said it remains ready to conclude the process at any time.
Education Minister Paul Givan said he was disappointed and urged unions to keep negotiating. He said that while “further work is required on a small number of issues,” he believed there was “scope” to reach agreement.
“I recognise the pressures facing teachers and the wider education workforce,” he said. “My priority remains securing the best possible outcomes for children and young people. I hope all parties will continue to engage constructively to build on the progress already made, with the aim of reaching agreement and minimising any potential impact on schools and pupils.”
What Belfast parents should know
This is not a school-closure strike. Action short of strike typically means staff hold to contractual directed time — so voluntary extras are the first things to feel the squeeze. For Belfast families that can mean:
- After-school clubs, sport and other extracurricular activities may be scaled back where they sit outside contracted duties.
- Some staff meetings and non-essential gatherings may be limited.
- Cover for absent colleagues may be tighter.
- Emails, calls and online messages outside directed time may go unanswered until the next working day.
Individual schools will interpret union instructions differently. Check your own school’s channels rather than assume every club or fixture is cancelled.
Both sides say they remain open to a deal. With less than a week until 28 September, the window to settle the remaining workload issues — and spare pupils the disruption Management Side has flagged — is still open, but narrowing fast.
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