Stormont's new education minister has said he plans to meet teaching unions next week to discuss calls for better pay.
Paul Givan said he wanted the "gap to close" between wages for school staff in Northern Ireland and their counterparts in Great Britain.
He was speaking as he visited a Catholic grammar school in Belfast.
It was the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member's first official ministerial engagement.
In January teaching and non-teaching staff were among the thousands of public sector workers who joined Northern Ireland's biggest strike for decades, calling for better pay and conditions.
The UK government has offered funding to settle public sector pay disputes, but Stormont parties say more money is needed.
Mr Givan said resolving the industrial dispute was his top priority.
"We need to have teachers and non-teachers being properly rewarded for the excellent work that they carry out," he said.
Asked if there would be pay parity between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, he said: "Well, when it comes to closing that gap, I want the gap to close."
He said he would be "making the case" for pay increases but acknowledged there would be "constraints" on the level of funding available to the new power-sharing executive, which was restored last week following a two-year hiatus.
