To ask the Minister of Education how they will address the ongoing (i) teachers'; and, (ii) head teachers' pay dispute.

Teachers’ pay is not unilaterally decided by the Department of Education (DE), as DE is not the employer of teachers; it is negotiated through the forum of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) which comprises the employers, sectoral bodies and DE.

Engagement has been ongoing between Management Side and Teachers’ unions to address the pay concerns for all teachers and when the necessary funding is made available formal negotiations will commence. I hope that the conditions will be in place for this to happen soon.