Education Minister Graham Cregeen says he has not been directly involved in pay negotiations with the teaching unions who are in dispute with his department.

Tensions in the dispute over pay and conditions continue to heighten.

Before the half-term holiday, the National Association of Head Teachers had already commenced action short of a strike and yesterday (Monday), with the schools back, they were joined by the NASUWT and ASCL unions. This means that teachers will not undertake voluntary activities such as running clubs outside in lunchtime of after school.

Other industrial action being taken includes non-attendance at senior leaders’ meetings and non-engagement with the appraisal policy for staff.

It was revealed last week that Department of Education chief executive Ronald Barr had written to the unions threatening members that their pay could be docked in future, for alleged breach of contract, although the unions have hit back, saying any such move would be challenged in courts.

In Tynwald, Julie Edge (Onchan) asked Mr Cregeen how many times he and department members had been present at union negotiations on pay.

The Minister (pictured) said he and department members had attended some meetings with unions connected with trade disputes, but they were present for actual pay negotiations.

’Other than this, the political members and I have been kept fully updated regarding the pay negotiations with the teaching unions, but have played no part in the negotiations,’ he said.

Department members Ann Corlett and Lawrie Hooper joined him and attended for a ’short question and answer session’ at the end of four days of pay negotiations in November, ’but we did not engage in negotiations’.

He added: ’We have been waiting a number of weeks for three of the unions to get back to us to agree a date to go to the Manx Industrial Relations Service.

’They have not got back to us yet.’

The three unions have thanked members of the public for showing support for their action, which they say is intended to highlight how much of the education system relies on ’goodwill and unpaid work’.

A fourth teaching union, the NEU, is not currently in dispute with the department, although members voted against a pay deal that its leadership had supported.