Teachers and non teaching staff 'deserve proper pay’ says DUP Mid Ulster MLA

Mr Buchanan said in a statement that over the past few weeks many teachers and educational staff have contacted him.

“Teaching and non-teaching staff play an invaluable role in supporting the delivery of education for our children and young people," he said.

"Just like their counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom, they deserve proper pay and for those awards to be made in a timely manner.

"The hard work and dedication of teachers and non-teaching staff, and their key role in the development and well-being of our young people, needs to be properly rewarded. The issue of pay in our education sector is a very good example of why we have been pressing HM Government, demanding that Northern Ireland is better funded.

"Previous political pet projects elsewhere in the Executive contributed to the underfunding of education, but the overall sum Northern Ireland receives annually is not based on assessed need. This needs to change, but in the meantime, the Government needs to act now to address the pay issue in education.

"In a recent media release my colleague, Diane Dodds MLA, DUP Educational spokesperson, stated, “The Government needs to urgently realise that the failure to fund and ring-fence pay awards for teachers, classroom assistants and the diverse range of staff roles in education is creating a chilling effect in terms of recruitment and retention and will inevitably lead to disruption in our classrooms. This needs to be addressed and quickly.”