Members of a teaching union have rejected an offer from education chiefs which would have seen an increase in teachers’ salaries.

The National Education Union had agreed a deal in principle with the Department for Education, Sport and Culture following discussions with the Manx Industrial Relations Service.

Teachers were balloted on whether to accept the offer but voted to reject it, seemingly against the suggestion of the union leadership.

The Examiner has been told that members rejected the offer by a ’substantial’ margin.

Following an emergency Tynwald question from Onchan MHK Julie Edge last week, Education Minister Graham Cregeen confirmed that a business case for such a package had not yet been put to the Treasury.

He said the department had not required Treasury concurrence to reach a deal in principle.

Jess Egelnick, NEU joint branch and district secretary, said that ’members were asked whether they accept the pay offer from the DESC (of January 15)’.

She and Tina Gleghorn, the other joint secretary had labelled the now rejected agreement as ’historic’.

She added: ’They were surveyed with a closing date of Friday, January 24.

The results showed that NEU members declined the DESC offer.

’The NEU [which is the largest teaching union in the island] has a general meeting on Friday, January 31, at 4.45pm at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Douglas, at which members will provide an updated mandate to the negotiators. The NEU has asked the DESC to continue negotiations in February through MIRS and for the other teaching unions to be invited to attend these negotiations.

As a result of the vote, the DESC is still deadlocked in negotiations with several teaching unions.

However, Chief Minister Howard Quayle has said he won’t intervene in the process, telling the Examiner: ’We have experts to deal with this.’

Mr Quayle also revealed the move to London Fringe [teacher pay scales], which is part of the deal agreed in principle with the leadership of the NEU union, worked out as an extra £1,100 for every teacher.

The Chief Minister said: ’I recognise the commitment and dedication of all teachers to provide a first class education.

’The Isle of Man government has followed the UK rules and regulations for awarding teachers’ pay, there is no dispute anywhere in England and Wales on this.’

Members of the NEU rejecting this deal comes days after DESC Minister Graham Cregeen discovered he is facing industrial action with members of three other unions representing teachers across the island voting to support strike actions.

Mr Cregeen had hoped that the NAHT, NASUWT and ASCL would ’put the offer negotiated by the NEU to their members before they taken any industrial action’.

However, that was prior to NEU members rejecting it themselves.

NAHT has served notice to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture that its members will be taking action short of strike from Thursday (January 30).

The union is also due to meet today (Tuesday) to discuss what form that action will take.