Education Minister Alex Allinson has defended his handling of the long-running industrial dispute with teachers.

Talks between the Department of Education and unions are set to resume, but Dr Allinson refused to tell a select committee exactly when.

At a hearing before the important social affairs policy review committee last week, he came under fire for comments he had made, and was also quizzed over provocative remarks from Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan.

Committee chairman Julie Edge commented on Dr Allinson referring to ’English unions’ when they were recognised bodies in the island.

’That is really not very conducive to a good working relationship if you refer to English unions,’ she said.

’We are all very aware that the Treasury Minister made comments with regards to knuckling down.

’How do you feel that you can rectify some of those comments and move forward? You are a medical professional, I am sure you have got an English union. I just wonder how you are going to move things forward when comments like that have been made?’

The minister, who inherited the dispute and has insisted he wants to work with teachers rather than dictate to them, said: ’What I was saying was we are dealing with unions and the general secretaries are based in the United Kingdom.

’I have talked to some of those general secretaries, I have reached out to them and explained the situation in the Isle of Man. We have a very different situation, particularly at the moment, to most other places in the British Isles.

respect

’Our schools are open. We have safe spaces. We have teachers not having to wear masks. We are in a very different situation than in the UK and I think we need to actually respect and they need to be aware of that. They are.’

Dr Allinson, who has previously declined to comment on Mr Cannan’s remarks when approached by Isle of Man Newspapers, did not respond to Ms Edge’s question on them.

Teaching unions are in dispute with the department over pay, pensions and conditions.

Explaining why he would not reveal the date of the next meeting, Dr Allinson said it was a ’delicate situation’.

’In the current climate all sorts of things can happen, meetings can get postponed. What I do not want to do is either build up expectations or build up pressure on people to have to meet and have to agree.’

Interim chief executive Graham Kinrade told the committee he had held ’informative’ introductory meetings with the four main teaching unions.

Dr Allinson acknowledged many teachers felt the current industrial action short of a strike was the only way to make themselves heard.

But he pledged: ’The culture in the education service is changing, we are listening to their grievances, we are listening to their worries and we would like a settlement of this industrial dispute so we can all move on together and have a period of reconciliation.’

negotiations

Confirming the Office of Human Resources was leading negotiations, he said concerns covered a range of issues.

’A lot of those are to do with the previous culture within the department,’ he admitted. ’I hope that by showing we are actively changing that culture we can help resolve some of those disagreements and reach a fair settlement to the industrial dispute, which is helping nobody.’

Dr Allinson said in terms of staffing levels, the industrial action ’should not have much impact’.

’With the NASUWT action, which has escalated to not covering things like break time activities or school activities, I know that has impacted on the existing staff and some head teachers have had to act, for instance, on bus duty and organising things during lunch breaks. But that would not necessarily affect staffing levels.

’What has happened is by certain teachers not covering absences there are perhaps extra staff needed to be brought in, supply staff, to support those activities, but that can be very difficult to arrange at short notice and we know that certain schools had to employ extra support staff.’

However, Mr Kinrade warned: ’There are not that many supply teachers on the Isle of Man, so there is absolutely a limit to the number of staff that you can readily muster into a school.’

But he said he ’would like to think’ current action would escalate to walkouts.