Teachers union demands inquiry into 'derisory' Manx pay offer

Teachers' pay packets on the Isle of Man mirror the salaries of those in England

A teachers' union has called for an inquiry into a "derisory" pay rise for its members.

Banded pay increases ranging from 3.5% for the lowest paid teachers to 1.5% for those on the highest incomes were announced last year.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers said the deal for Manx teachers was "out of kilter" with those elsewhere.

Education Minister Graham Cregeen said the comments were "disappointing".

He said the pay rise was based on "an agreement", and pay rates for teachers on the island were linked to those in England.

The School Teachers' Review Body had recommended a 3.5% increase across the board, but the UK secretary of state instead introduced the tiered rises.

But the NASUWT union's Damien McNulty said the cost of living, along with increased pension and national insurance contributions, meant pay on the island had become "significantly further out of kilter with teachers off the island".

Education Minister Graham Cregeen insisted Manx teachers were not worse off

Mr McNulty said the "cumulative effect" meant teachers on the Isle of Man were "more than 30% behind where they would have been 10 years ago".

The union has called for the link between pay in England and the Isle of Man to be "broken" and that a "substantial, above-inflation increase" is handed to Manx teachers.

However, Mr Cregeen said lower income tax and NI rates on the island meant Manx teachers were not worse off than their English counterparts.

"There's additional benefits that they have on the Isle of Man. It's swings and roundabouts," he said.

"We've agreed a process and if it goes to a court of inquiry we're quite happy to go down that process."

The matter is now in the hands of the Manx Industrial Relations Service, which will decide if an inquiry will go ahead.