"Teachers and principals have been pushed to breaking point. When the union representing most school leaders says conditions are 'unsafe, unsustainable and professionally indefensible', alarm bells should be ringing in the Department of Education.”
"Workers don't take industrial action lightly. Teachers have been forced into it by a Minister and management side who still haven't produced a credible plan to implement the 27 recommendations of the Independent Teacher Workload Review. Educators have heard warm words for long enough. Asking for yet more time after years of crushing workloads is simply not good enough.”
"Paul Givan claims his priority is children and young people. But he’ll never deliver for pupils while grinding down the people who teach them. Burnt-out staff, vacant posts and teachers walking away from the profession do far more damage to children's education than any action short of strike.”
"This crisis is also the product of years of underfunding by successive Executives and Westminster austerity. Schools need proper investment - not more demands on an exhausted workforce.”
"I stand with every teacher and school leader taking action. The Minister should stop blaming the unions and come back with a fully funded, deliverable package that genuinely cuts workload. If he does, this dispute can end quickly. If he doesn't, teachers have every right to escalate."