NASUWT: Why We’re Striking

One of the members of the NASUWT’s national executive team has told spoken to Gef to outline their members’ reasons for striking, identifying pay as the main issue.

After last week the DESC notified islanders that four out of five unions had accepted its pay deal, this the NASUWT’s side that explains why its members, teachers here on the Isle of Man, have opted to strike.

Members will walk out on Wednesday and Thursday this week with further strikes planned for January and February.

Nuala Lavery-Noon, a member of NASUWT’s national executive, said: ‘Teachers’ pay levels in the Isle of Man have historically been determined by the UK Government in Westminster. This means Manx teachers’ pay has been subject to the pay restraint and freezes imposed by the UK Government. It also means pay awards take no account of local circumstances.

‘This has resulted in a real-terms cut of around 30% since 2010 when measured against Retail Price Index inflation [the union does not have a calculation for CPI, which is more widely used on island], however Teachers have also incurred higher pension and National Insurance contributions making the impact far worse. This pay erosion is far higher than that experienced by teachers in the UK, Guernsey, or Jersey.

‘These cuts are unsustainable – they are not only having significant impacts on teachers’ lives, they are also impacting on the ability of the Isle of Man to recruit and retain good teachers, putting the future economic prosperity of the whole island at risk.

‘In addition to pay, there are also significant issues around workload and working practices that are also driving good teachers out of the classroom.’

Ms Lavery-Noon said that the union has ‘repeatedly tried’ to negotiate to resolve the issues, but blamed the gov for filing to present ‘any kind of proposal that would even come close to resolving the issues’.

This includes the latest offer which is being imposed on members of the NASUWT, that sees teachers’ pay rise next month by between 8% and 11.9% with the higher salaries coming into effect before Christmas.

However, the union rep said that even this offer is ‘still failing to keep pace with inflation, let alone address the historic erosion’.

And added: ‘Due to the lack of progress, the union has no option but to escalate to strike action in order to demonstrate to the government the seriousness of the situation.’

Impact

Ms Lavery-Noon said that teachers’ pay falling behind inflation has had had a ‘significant impact on teachers and their families’.

She said: ‘The NASUWT has first-hand testimony from many members having to take second or third jobs to make ends meet. Others have had to resort to food banks or seek assistance from the Salvation Army. Others are relying on credit cards. Many regret moving from the UK, and feel let down by the government.

‘Many of the testimonies were received before the current cost of living crisis kicked in, and the situation is deteriorating by the day for many teachers.’

Resolution

The union rep said that it recognises that it won’t get what it wants for its members overnight, and is not calling for an immediate 30% increase.

She added: ‘The union has therefore been calling for a multi-year pay offer that begins to address the pay issues, and is fully funded via the central government Budget, rather than through redistributing the existing Education, Sport and Culture budget. To date, no such offer has been forthcoming.’

Other Issues

In addition, the NASUWT, together with other education trade unions, has put forward proposals to address the workload and working practices issues that are also dogging the profession. These include:

* Detailed amendments to the pay policy, including a 6-point pay scale (the current M4-UPS3) with no threshold assessment;

* Substantial changes to the current terms and conditions document, which would address anomalies in the current document and align Manx teachers conditions with best practice elsewhere; and

* Recommendations around how teacher wellbeing can be improved.