Government Minister Alfred Cannan has hit out at teachers over industrial action - appearing to suggest they should not complain about expectations to work beyond contracted hours.

The MHK made the incendiary remarks during last week’s Tynwald debate on an independent report on the ’fractured’ relationship between the Department of Education and its frontline school staff.

In the debate, Education Minister Dr Alex Allinson tried to walk a tightrope between offering an olive branch to teachers by apologising for his department’s previous failings, while expressing concern that industrial action short of a strike by some teaching unions - part of a dispute over pensions, pay and conditions - was damaging children’s education.

But the Treasury Minister took a much more aggressive stance.

Mr Cannan said: ’It is incredibly disappointing from my perspective and the Council (of Ministers’) perspective, and the community’s perspective, that this industrial action is continuing despite the fact that a report has been clearly laid into the public arena that gives a basis for change.’

He responded to a comment made by Julie Edge (Onchan) who had challenged Dr Allinson’s claim that the industrial action was damaging education. She argued that teachers were merely not doing additional work that was not in their contracts.

But Mr Cannan said there were ’thousands’ of parents who would not agree with the assertion that children’s education was not being damaged.

’There is no extra curricular sports activity happening in our schools, which is a crying shame, given the situation that is going on around us and the desperate need for our children to be having these types of additional opportunities,’ he argued.

’I have clear evidence that catch-up lessons are not being offered to pupils who desperately need additional support and indeed are falling behind with their studies because of the Covid pandemic and I have absolutely clear evidence from one school that parents’ evenings have been cancelled as a result at least once, that parents’ evenings have not taken place.’

He added: ’Teaching is a vocation. It is not a 9-12, break for lunch for an hour, and resume, as we know.

’Obviously, we have come, over this pandemic, to appreciate the value of our public services and let me be clear, I have spoken to multiple teachers in this island who have not engaged in industrial action, who frankly disapprove of what has been happening from some quarters.’

The Examiner understands that a number of schools, while not holding full-scale parents’ evenings, are still arranging parent-teacher meetings, within the school day.

At the end of the debate, Dr Allinson again attempted a more conciliatory note, saying change had to be ’with people, not at people’.

But in his summing up, the minister did not address, specifically, some of Mr Cannan’s claims,

We contacted the minister and asked him whether he agreed with the suggestion that any lack of catch-up lessons was a consequence of industrial action, or whether such provision would actually require additional staff and/or funding, given that it would be in addition to current curriculum provision.

We also asked whether he agreed with the suggestion that teachers should accept having to work beyond their contracted hours.

The Beamans Report, released last month, was swiftly followed by the resignation of education chief executive Ronald Barr.

As well as highlighting how badly trust between school staff and the department had deteriorated, the report - commissioned by Chief Minister Howard Quayle - recommended separating operational and policy matters and called for an Education Board to replace the current Education Council.

The government is not committing to the board proposal but is promising an interim structure to be in place next year.