Northern Ireland schools' staff in to strike next Friday

School support staff in Northern Ireland are to go on a 24-hour strike next Friday as part of a pay dispute.

The action by Unite trade union members coincides with a strike by Translink bus and train drivers on the same day.

Unite said the strike by classroom assistants, cleaners, caterers, and admin and transport staff would cause significant disruption.

Last week thousands of non-teaching staff walked out of hundreds of schools to call for an increase in their wages.

Stormont's Department of Education has previously said it cannot afford to give pay rises to school support staff.

Announcing the latest strike, Unite's Sharon Graham said workers had been left with "no alternative but to escalate their strike action".

"The school support staff workers have the full and continuing support of Unite in their campaign for fair pay," she said.

Unite has accused the Department of Education of "obstructing" a pay review by failing to ask Stormont's finance department for the necessary funding.

Next Friday bus and train drivers in Northern Ireland will also go on strike, bringing public transport to a halt.

It will affect Ulsterbus, Metro and Glider services - some children also use those services to get to school.

Members of the Unite, GMB and SIPTU unions voted in favour of the transport strike in their row over pay.

Public transport provider Translink said it did not receive a budget for a pay offer from the Department for Infrastructure and as such could not make a pay offer to staff.