NAHT’s Isle of Man members will take part in a consultative ballot to see if they wish to accept a revised pay offer from the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC).

A previous offer made in January was rejected by a ballot of serving NAHT members in the Isle of Man by 55-45%. NAHT subsequently requested a reopening of negotiations in light of the decision by members, which resulted in further talks and the improved offer made today.

The revised offer includes:

• A consolidated payment of 2% for teachers and lecturers backdated to 1 September 2021, payable as an IOM weighting which will be a contracted allowance incorporated into terms and conditions for teachers and lecturers via their respective pay policies which will be pensionable and the 2% to be applied to allowances
• an additional 20 Cover Supervisors to work across all phases with a commitment to start this recruitment as soon as possible with the first postholders commencing in post in September 2022
• In acknowledgement and recognition of the commitment and support during this unprecedented 12 months the Department will close schools on 21 December, enabling a longer Christmas break for 2022
• Review the ISR for school leaders during this academic year

Robert Kelsall, National Secretary at NAHT said: “We are pleased that the Department have come forward with a revised offer on pay and workload. The commitment to recruit an additional 20 new Cover Supervisors, grant two days leave to teachers in recognition of the commitment during Covid and a commitment to review the pay range for Head Teachers are all steps in the right direction.”

“It remains to be seen if the offer goes far enough to address the overall pay for senior leaders and teachers. As a democratic Union, it will be for our members in the IOM to determine whether the latest officer is acceptable”

The latest offer will be presented to members, and this will be followed by a consultative ballot of members which will open today and close at 5pm on Tuesday 3 May.