Teachers and support staff should be recognised for the job they do, Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan has said as he pledged to seek a resolution to industrial action.
Education staff were among public sector workers who took part last month in the largest strike seen in recent history in Northern Ireland, calling for pay parity with their colleagues in the rest of the UK.
There has also been long-running industrial action short of a strike by teachers over conditions.
Mr Givan is set to meet teacher unions next week.
Speaking during his first official visit in the role, which was to Rathmore Grammar School in Belfast, Mr Givan said resolving the industrial action is a priority for him.
“The unions’ desire to support their members, whether they are teachers or support staff, is the same desire that I have. They should be recognised for the job that they do,” he said.
“We have superb teachers in Northern Ireland and that has to be reflected in the terms and conditions that they have.
“That is a priority. We need to resolve the industrial action, we need to resolve the action short of strike which does have a detrimental impact upon schools being able to deliver for children and young people
“I want to see the resolution to that very quickly and so I want to get with talking to the unions and then we get into those negotiations, and then we can reach an outcome where they are properly recognised in their terms and conditions, and then schools are able to get on with teaching children.”
There was surprise in some quarters when the DUP choose the education brief in their first pick of the ministerial portfolios on Saturday instead of finance.
Sinn Fein then nominated Caoimhe Archibald to serve as Finance Minister.
Mr Givan said he was delighted when DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson asked him to take on the role.
He said Sir Jeffrey said he wanted to make education a priority, adding: “Because he said it’s for the next generation, and I couldn’t agree more.”
“We’ve got 350,000 children and young people within our education system, that’s the future and I have a huge responsibility to make sure they get the education which they need to fulfil their potential, and that means supporting teachers, our schools and I’m going to do that in terms of the ambition that I have and the asks that I’m going to be making to the Executive to allow me to do the job.”
Mr Givan said discussions within the Executive on budget allocations for departments are ongoing.
“Education is something that cuts across political boundaries and I am confident that a Sinn Fein Finance Minister will recognise the importance of education, and my Executive colleagues will recognise that we need to invest in our capital estate and in our teachers, and so whenever the ask comes I am hopeful that they will respond positively to all of that,” he said.
“The Executive does have constraints in terms of the financial envelope that is available to it. We have pressures in every department. My job is to advocate for the Department of Education and I will be a champion for my department and for getting the resources that we need to deliver that world-class education system in Northern Ireland.”