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Pay deal reached with further education lecturers

BBC Four people are standing in front of a sign for South West College. There is snow on the ground behind them and they are all wearing hats and carrying placards from the UCU calling for Fair Pay for Further EducationBBC
A pay increase of 5.5% for 2024/2025 has been agreed

Unions have accepted a pay offer for further education lecturers, the Department for the Economy has said.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the University College Union (UCU) and NASUWT, the teachers' union, had agreed to an increase of 5.5% for 2024/25.

A 3% pay increase has been accepted for 2025/26.

Earlier this month, the UCU had said the offer of 5.5% "fell short" of pay parity with teachers.

Archibald said she was pleased the offer had now been accepted.

"I commend the further education colleges and trade union representatives for their constructive engagement to bring about this multi-year pay deal," she said.

"This brings an end to industrial action, benefiting staff and students alike."

Teachers had accepted a 5.5% pay increase in April.

But the UCU had said the same deal would mean lecturer pay would remain "£2,200 lower per annum than school teachers".

Maxine Murphy-Higgins, of the NASUWT, said the deal provided time to resolve issues around pay parity.

"There will be steps to ensuring that parity is going to happen," she said.

"The management side will put a business case to the Department of Economy to ensure that parity happens in the 25/26 year. So that has made the difference."

Ms Murphy-Higgins said she had confidence that management were committed to making changes.