Island teachers have indicated they are prepared to strike over pay - if a dispute isn’t settled soon.

Some 550 to 600 union members - more than half of the island’s teachers - gathered at a joint union meeting held at the Comis Hotel, Mount Murray, on Tuesday for an update on recent pay negotiations.

They broke off into separate meetings for each of the unions where indicative votes were held on what next steps they should take.

A pay increase of 2.75% across all teaching pay scales and allowances, backdated to September 1, has been awarded for this year.

But unions believe a substantial above-inflation three-year deal is needed from next year to counter years of pay erosion.

There is also a dispute with the Department of Education, Sport and Culture over a previous pay award for school heads.

Teaching leaders’ union the NAHT began a work to rule at the start of the autumn term but suspended its industrial action after agreeing a 10-point plan with the DESC to resolve its pay dispute.

Following an indicative vote at Tuesday’s meeting local NAHT representative Max Kelly, the head teacher at Laxey and Dhoon primary schools, said: ’If the department doesn’t come forward with a way to resolve the pay dispute by January 1, we would be prepared to resume industrial action.’

Members voted overwhelmingly by 95% - in a ballot in August to support industrial action. A total of 85% indicated they were prepared to go on strike.

School heads argue that they should have received the same 3.5% rise awarded to other teacher grades last year.

The School Teachers’ Review Body had recommended all teachers and leaders get the full 3.5%.

But the DESC said it was the UK Secretary of State that made the decision not to wholly follow the recommendation of the pay review body, but instead apply differential awards to different scales, meaning school heads would get only a 1% increase. The other unions - NASUWT, ASCL and the NEU - have members who are on the leadership pay scale.

But there is a wider concern about pay erosion, with the belief that wages have not kept up with inflation.

The unions are demanding a three-year deal from next year to address the ’chronic’ erosion of teachers’ pay since 2010, which they say lags almost 30% behind what it was in 2000 - although they haven’t yet put forward a proposed offer.

But the DESC insists that island teachers’ pay awards have been linked, in agreement with all teaching unions, to those in England and Wales for many years.

National executive member for the NASUWT Damian McNulty said two thirds of its island members were at the meeting.

fruitful

He described the recent four days of negotiations with the DESC as ’fruitful’.

In a statement, the DESC said its offer of both independent arbitration or a court of inquiry had been rejected.

It said: ’The government values and respects the professionalism, dedication and commitment of all the teachers.

’All parties agreed that the unions should bring forward an offer prior to the meeting scheduled for November 22.

’This meeting was postponed due to a misunderstanding by the unions.

’The DESC has held four days of talks with the unions and is currently awaiting details of their pay proposal for next year, before the next meeting scheduled for December 3. The DESC is keen to work with all parties to resolve the issues raised and will be inviting the Manx Industrial Relations Service to attend these meetings.’