Unions representing further education (FE) lecturers in Northern Ireland say they have “reached agreement” in their industrial dispute with employers.
The majority of members of the University and College Union (UCU) and NASUWT voted to accept a 8.4% uplift plus a £1,000 payment.
The offer will also see the minimum lecturers’ pay point increased to £30,000.
In a statement, the unions said it marked the “ending of four years dispute in the further education sector”.
The long-running dispute with employers over pay and conditions has seen staff take to the picket lines on numerous occasions.
Just last month, the two unions wrote to the economy minister Conor Murphy calling on him to “commence the process of putting worthy words into implementable actions”.
They urged the Sinn Féin minister to increase pay for lecturers, stop the current redundancy process and make changes to working conditions.
Members of the two unions had previously voted to reject what they have described as an “insulting” pay offer of 5% uplift, plus an unconsolidated payment of £1,500.
But on Tuesday, the unions said in a joint statement that the lecturers’ negotiating committee had “reached agreement on the resolution of the current industrial dispute”.
“The pay offer included the minimum lecturers’ pay point being uplifted to £30K and all other lecturers’ pay points being increased by 8.4% + £1,000,” the statement said.
“This was accepted by large majority by members of the UCU and the NASUWT.
“UCU and the NASUWT would like to recognise the hard work of our memberships, without their determination this offer would not have been made.”
The statement added: “There is still work to do around parity for lecturers’ with the teachers’ pay scales and we will lobby the Department and College Employers Forum to ensure that our members are being rewarding for the work they do and the value they bring to NI Economy.
“The UCU and the NASUWT will work with college managements to ensure that there are improvements made to workload, terms and conditions of service and that we have an industrial relations model that will deliver for the lecturers’ of Northern Ireland.”
Mr Murphy said he is “pleased that my department has been able to facilitate this pay award, which has been accepted by unions”.
“Further education lecturers are vital in providing many of the skills that grow our economy. I hope we can now work together to build a thriving further education sector as this will be key to delivering my economic vision,” he said.
“The Department for the Economy worked within its available budget to provide further education colleges with a revised funding envelope, enabling them to make an improved offer for staff.”
