Isle of Man head teachers vote to accept deal in ongoing pay row

The offer would be backdated to September 2021

Senior teachers on the Isle of Man have voted to accept a revised offer in an ongoing row over pay and conditions.

The offer, which includes a "fringe allowance" for island staff, was backed by 91% of members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

The union's national secretary, Rob Kelsall said members had "reached an accord" with the education department.

It follows the deal's rejection by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).

'Long-process'

NASUWT said the offer did not address "historic pay erosion" and it would now consider whether to escalate its current action short of strike to a series of walk outs.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, teachers would be paid 1% above the current London fringe scale, introduced on a sliding scale, which would see the lowest paid receiving the highest uplift.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture previously said the new deal was its "final pay offer".

The proposal also includes the recruitment of 20 cover supervisors, to fill in for staff absences at schools.

Mr Kelsall said that would be a "huge boost" for teachers and allow them to "continue to remain focussed on delivering improved educational outcomes for children and young people".

He said: "It's been a long-process of negotiation and I am really pleased that our members have now reached an accord with the department.

"Our members are hard-working professionals and deserve to be recognised as such."

A previous deal, which did not include the introduction of cover supervisors or the specific Isle of Man pay scale, was rejected by 55% of NAHT members in January.