The general secretary of a teaching union has told members he has witnessed threats being made against education staff in the island.

Paul Whiteman, from the National Association of Head Teachers, told more than 400 teachers who gathered at Braddan Church on Tuesday night that the unions in dispute with the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, will stand behind their members.

The NAHT, NASUWT and Association of School and College Leaders met to discuss what form of industrial action, short of striking, the unions will take from today (Thursday). Unions have assured parents the action they take will not affect their children’s education but will impact upon on the workings of DESC.

The action they will take includes not going to senior leaders’ meetings with the department and refusing to write reports for governors’ meetings.

Mr Whiteman told teachers he felt that DESC has been ’very amateur at industrial relations’.

He said: ’First they started with taking the profession for granted.

’Then they carried on with an air of arrogance that they know better about what to do and ignore what you said as professionals and then they began to exclude you from decision making and when you pushed back, they started the threats.

threatened

’I’m a long-term trade union official and I know when members are telling me they’ve been threatened and sometimes, I’d take that with a pinch of salt because it is tough out there.

’But I’ve witnessed the threats personally as well, I was absolutely shocked to see a threat made to a union member in front of their general secretary.’

Mr Whiteman said teachers had to use their ’legal right’ to protest to try and achieve their ambitions and that they deserve more respect and better pay from the department and that the unity between the unions was a chance to ’push back’ at the government.

’He added: ’You will be threatened again, I have absolutely no doubt that when we go back and start to outline what will happen, the pressure will come, subtle pressure at first and then the absolute pressure.

’You must stand absolutely firm and must not buckle when this pressure comes. You all have shown what it means to stand together and if you’ve been pushed to this point, don’t let them split the profession.’

Carole Walsh, local representative of the NAHT, told teachers that members ’are not going to be bullied’ and criticised DESC chief executive Professor Roland Barr for sending ’intimidating correspondence’ to their home addresses over the Christmas holidays.

She said: ’What a lovely Christmas present from our chief executive officer. Included in that correspondence was copies of our contracts with little bits all highlighted, trying to frighten us when the ballot was due to start.

’And then of course, the final straw was the "deal" which thankfully NEU members resoundingly disagreed with and said no.’

Mrs Walsh also criticised Minister Graham Cregeen’s suggestion in this week’s House of Keys that DESC doesn’t know what teachers want and insisted the unions have been consistent in their aims for a 3.5% pay rise to compensate for the rise in the cost of living and improved conditions for teachers.

Keith Winstanley, from ASCL also called for the 3.5% rise and said the department knows that it’s the joint position of the unions.

An NAHT member also confirmed to the Manx Independent that there was a unanimous vote of no confidence in Mr Cregeen and a second vote of no confidence was overwhelmingly backed in respect of the department.

A DESC spokesman said: ’Our door remains open with all unions; we have made it clear that we will make senior civil servants available for any talks to help avoid action that may damage the education of children.’