MLP Backs Teachers in Dispute

The Manx Labour Party has come out in support of teachers engaged in talks with the gov over pay and working conditions.

Talks between the NASUWT and DESC appear to have hit a wall, with teachers this week backing action up to, and including, striking.

The MLP, which has two members of Tynwald, Joney Faragher and Sarah Maltby, said that the island’s teachers could’ve already gone on strike were it not for their sense of duty towards their students and that this sense of duty ‘has been used over the past decade to justify the erosion of wages and increased workloads’

It added: ‘Ultimately, duty doesn’t pay the mortgage or rent, it doesn’t pay bills and it doesn’t pay back student loans.

‘Wages for educators have fallen dramatically in real terms while workloads have increased. We support a fair wage rise that recognises teachers’ value; brings them real-term benefits against inflation and is sufficient to address the recruitment and retention crisis being experienced on the island.

‘Falling real-term wages and increasing workload has resulted in teachers leaving the field in droves, placing an unsustainable burden on an already understaffed education system. All workers are being hammered, and all workers deserve a better deal. The Manx Labour Party was founded a hundred years ago by workers and we will continue to push to improve the rights and wages of all who labour.’