IT appears inevitable that education will become the latest area of public life to face disruption due to strike action by key workers.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), the largest union in Catholic schools, confirmed this week that it intends to stage a walk-out next month.
It is likely that other unions will follow suit, with the possibility of joint action taking place after the half-term holidays.
Unions are already engaged in a co-ordinated protest over pay and conditions and say they have been left with no option but to escalate the dispute.
Last year they rejected a two-year pay offer from employers, describing it as inadequate.
Union leaders have also expressed anger at swingeing cuts to the education budget this year, which they say will harm children and young people and society as a whole.
Enforced school closures will not be welcomed by anyone, especially given the extensive disruption caused to children's education during the Covid pandemic.
However, teachers – who are owed a debt for keeping schools functioning in the most difficult of circumstances – are just the latest group of workers who feel they have no alternative to achieve what they consider a fair pay award in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
The University and College Union (UCU) announced yesterday that more than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across Britain and Northern Ireland will strike over 18 days during February and March.
A decision will be taken in the coming weeks on a further walk-out by members of the Royal College of Nursing in the north, with nurses in England striking again this week.
Further train strikes are also planned in England next month, while tens of thousands of civil servants are also set to take action.
This long winter of discontent is an inevitable consequence of public spending being squeezed at a time when energy costs have rocketed and inflation has been running at a 40-year high.
Figures show the gap between pay rises and the soaring cost of living at record levels, with many hard-working families struggling to make ends meet.
Pay offers have also been much lower in the public sector than for private sector employees.
If further strike action is to be averted it will only be by unions and employers coming to the negotiating table and working together to agree fair and affordable pay rises.
