Isle of Man teachers begin industrial action 'short of strike'

Teaching unions have been in a long-running dispute with the government over pay

Teachers on the Isle of Man have begun industrial action as part of a dispute over pay.

The Association Of School and College Leaders, National Association of Head Teachers, and National Association of Schoolmasters, Union of Women Teachers backed strike action on 21 January.

NAHT members have begun action "short of strike", while ASCL and NASUWT have yet to decide on what action to take.

Education Minister Graham Cregeen said the decision was "very disappointing".

He added that he had "still not received an indication" as to what pay deal the unions wanted.

The dispute began in 2018 when an across-the-board pay rise of 3.5%, which was recommended by the School Teacher's Review Body, was changed to tiered increases by the UK government.

Pay rises for teachers on the Isle of Man have previously been linked with those given in the UK.

A government deal which would see newly-qualified teachers paid almost £30,000 and the scrapping of the two lowest pay bands, which range between £24,000 and £26,000, was accepted by the National Education Union on 17 January, but was rejected by the other three unions.

The NASUWT's Damian McNulty said the action would see his members would "withdraw co-operation" with additional tasks, such as attending meetings with leaders, but they would continue to provide extra activities for students.

The NAHT's Rob Kelsall said the union "would be taking stock" after four weeks of action and a full strike was still possible if there had been "no solution found", while the ASCL's Sara Ford said it was the union's intention "to not disrupt parents and pupils" at this time but it reserved the "right to move to strike action".