Education chiefs says they are ’deeply concerned’ about a possible teachers’ strike - and the impact this could have on children.

Three teaching unions have given the government seven days’ notice that they intend to ballot members on industrial action in a dispute over pay.

The two-week ballot by the NAHT, NASUWT and ASCL unions will be held between January 6 and 20. It is a ballot for strike action and action short of a strike.

But the Department of Education, Sport and Culture said: ’We are deeply concerned about how any proposed strike action will affect children and young people, working families and the wider Isle of Man community.

’Our priority is to ensure their education does not suffer.

Education Minister Graham Cregeen said: ’No one wants industrial action to affect our children’s education and the vital work of this island’s hard working teachers.

’We are seeking greater clarity from the unions but we will work hard to avoid strike action and find a long-lasting resolution.’

A 2.75% pay award across all teaching grades, backdated to September, was accepted for the current year.

But unions are seeking a substantial above-inflation three-year pay deal from next year, claiming teachers’ pay has been eroded by about a third since 2010 when compared with RPI (retail prices index) inflation.

The government’s preferred measure of inflation is CPI (consumer prices index), which is usually lower.

School leaders are also in dispute over last year’s pay award which saw them receive just 1.5%, while other grades got the full 3.5%.

The DESC points out that teachers’ pay in the Isle of Man is linked to the pay award settlement for teachers determined by the UK Secretary of State for Education.

Annual pay increases are awarded by the School Teachers Pay Review Body and published in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document - and have been implemented every year in exactly the same way since 1992.

Head teachers in the island currently earn between £55,202 and £104,368, depending on school size.

The DESC claims they are between £2,627 and £12,949 better off than their UK counterparts.

Currently 58% of DESC teachers are paid on the ’upper pay spine’ i.e. earning from £37,654 to £40,490 per year.

Unqualified teachers earn between £17,681 and £27,964. Qualified teachers on the main scale earn between £24,373 and £35,971.

Some 69% of all teachers are paid on either the upper or leadership pay scales.

In the 2018-19 award, 235 (31%) full-time equivalent teachers on the main pay scale or who are unqualified received the full 3.5% uplift, 442 (58%) on the upper pay scale received 2% and 80 on the leadership pay scale (11%) received 1.5%.

More than 40% of island teachers also receive an allowance for additional teaching and learning responsibilities.

Allowances for teachers on the main scale range between £750 and £9,928, while those on the upper pay scale range from £750 to £13,653.

Member for education Lawrie Hooper MHK tweeted in August that average teacher salary in the island is ’quite high - over £50,000 - due to most of our teachers being at the top of the upper pay scale’.

The DESC accepts that of the four main employment groups in government, teachers have received the smallest cumulative increase over the last 10 years - and that teachers’ pay has been eroded by just over 6% more than that of civil servants.

But it points out that civil service pension contributions have increased by 8% over the same period compared with 3.2% for teachers - and this effectively reduces the ’pay erosion’ to 1.2%.

The NASUWT union described the comparisons with pension contributions as ’rather disingenuous’ as the civil service scheme went from non-contributory to 8% contributions over eight years, whereas the teachers’ scheme went from 6.4% to an average of 9.6% in three.

It also rejected as ’highly exaggerated’ Mr Hooper’s claim that the average teacher earns £50,000 - and it disputes figures used for comparison with teachers’ pay in England.

The union added: ’The overriding fact is that Isle of Man teachers have suffered substantial real-term cuts to their pay due to the effects of inflation and the NASUWT’s action aims to address this erosion.’

But a spokesman for the DESC said: ’We have an agreed pay policy. We could only change this through negotiations with the unions through the Joint Negotiating Committee.

’NEU, the largest teaching union, have always been clear that they would not wish to break this link and neither would we.’

’If we were to break this link even for one year it would completely undermine our existing pay policy.

’Any ’one-off’ departure could subsequently be cited as a rationale for changing arrangements in the future.’

The DESC spokesman added: ’The government remains committed to an ongoing dialogue with all the unions representing teachers.

’Government will continue to work with the Manx Industrial Relations Service to achieve a swift resolution.’