The Ulster Teachers' Union is a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, whose membership comprises nursery, primary, and secondary school teachers and school leaders working in the state sector. It has 6,429 members. The UTU has close links with the

Irish National Teachers Organisation The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) (), founded in 1868, is the oldest and largest teachers' trade union in Ireland. It represents teachers at primary level in the Republic of Ireland, and at primary and post-primary level in Nor ...

Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional s ...

and the

National Education Union The National Education Union (NEU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for school teachers, further education lecturers, education support staff and teaching assistants. It was formed by the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers ...

. The union was founded in 1919 and for many years identified strongly with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, therefore not affiliating with the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little i ...

. Although the affiliation with ICTU did occur in the 1980s. For many years the Ulster Teachers’ Union was the largest teaching union in Northern Ireland.

General Secretaries

:1919–1942: Joseph Smith :1942–1970: Joseph King-Carson :1970–1978: Brian Toms :1978–1997: David Allen :1997–2004: Ray Calvin :2004–2019: Avril Hall-Callaghan :2019–present: Jacquie White

References

External links

utu.edu
Ulster Teachers Union Trade unions in Northern Ireland Education trade unions Teacher associations based in the United Kingdom Education in Northern Ireland Organisations based in Northern Ireland Primary education {{NorthernIreland-org-stub