Union membership in the Isle of Man is ‘thriving’.

That’s according to Prospect regional officer Mick Hewer who welcomed a visit before Christmas from the union’s Warrington-based regional secretary Jez Stewart.

Prospect has 160,000 members across the British Isles and around 20,000 in the North West and Isle of Man region, with some 2,600 in the island.

Speaking at Prospect’s offices at Chesterfield House on Victoria Road, Douglas, Mr Hewer said: ‘We’ve seen an increase in membership over the last 12 months.

‘I think that's probably because people are becoming more aware of the pressures being placed on them, coming from line management improperly influenced by political decisions, and that's resulting in people doing more with the same number of resources. There's also changes to terms and conditions.

Mr Stewart said: ‘Prospect is growing year on year, mainly through recruitment, but sometimes through merger.’

He said he hoped Tynwald would adopt new employment rights legislation set to come in across.

He said: ‘When that comes into law it will give access to workplaces in a way we haven't had before, place an obligation on management to advise their workforce of their right to join a trade union and give better protections against unfair dismissal. It remains to be seen if the Isle of Man government choose to mirror that.’

A pay offer for public sector workers had been accepted by Prospect but rejected by Unite - and subsequently went to independent binding arbitration.

Mr Stewart said: ‘I can only speak for Prospect, but I think one of the important things that we do is manage the expectations of our membership.

‘But clearly there's a cost-of-living crisis that's still affecting a significant proportion of working people.’

Are public sector workers protected a little more from these challenges than those in the private sector?

Me Hewer said: ‘Public sector workers aren't guaranteed a pay award. It's negotiated with the joint unions. You have the choice to join the public sector pension scheme, and you pay into it, you're buying those rights.’

Mr Stewart added: ‘A collective approach to seeking a fair and equitable outcome to pay negotiations is a better way forward to reach an agreement with the employer than trying to do things on an individual basis.

‘I think there is a nervousness among public sector workers about some of the potential threats on jobs, terms and conditions, and what this might mean for them as individuals - either not having a job, or if other people leave, whether their workload increases - but also about the effect on public services on the island.’

Asked about calls to reduce the public sector headcount, with a recent Tynwald scrutiny committee concluding the scale and cost of government has grown beyond what the taxpayer can sustain - Mr Hewer acknowledged this will likely be an issue raised by general election candidates.

He said: ‘There’s all the rhetoric about the need to cut costs by reducing headcount. We see that periodically.

’There needs to be a wider debate on it but the issue I have is people drawing sweeping statements about reducing headcount without telling you specifically where they want the cuts to be made.’

Mr Stewart said: ‘It’s populist and it’s what some politicians will do in the run up to an election.’