The government is still in talks with teaching unions, but no resolution has been found to the dispute.

Members of most of the island’s teaching unions have been in dispute with the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for well over a year, breaking it only during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Minister Dr Alex Allinson this week told the first sitting of the House of Keys that since July he has been meeting with local union officials.

Julie Edge (Onchan) asked Dr Allinson when he would be meeting with unions, telling the Keys that he had committed to a meeting in September but to her knowledge, it had not yet happened.

Dr Allinson said: ’I have met with local representatives in September.

’There are ongoing meetings, both formally and informally with all representatives, both locally and nationally with the unions. The department is committed to settle this dispute in a fair and equitable way.’

Chris Robertshaw (Douglas East) asked the Minister whether he would consider asking the unions to suspend their industrial action, which remains at short of a strike, following the publication of the Beamans report.

He suggested this would be appropriate given the report’s findings, which supporter teachers’ complaints about the DESC, and the ’significant changes which have happened in the department’ and allow a transition to a ’calmer’ future for the island’s education sector.

Dr Allinson said: ’I agree with him [Mr Robertshaw], I think it is very important that the department acts well and shows a genuine commitment to changes in the education service of our island to put children and their families first.

’We must also support those staff who provide the valuable education that we all appreciate.

’Perhaps after the experience of the last six months we appreciate even more because I think a lot of parents have had to adopt the role of teachers and found out how difficult it is.

’The interim chief executive [Graham Kinrade] has met teacher representatives and did ask them to postpone this action on the basis of the changes that we’ve already put in place and the ongoing work that we will do, with this house, with the teaching community and with parents and pupils to make our education system better.’

He added that the dispute had ’tarnished’ the relationship between the DESC and teachers, but that he wants to see it resolved.