A WAR of words between politicians and teaching union leaders has shown no signs of abating as the Island prepares for industrial action that will see more than 90% of schools closed today and a protest in the Royal Square.
While members of the government denied that there was a crisis in education and said that the pay offer made to teachers was reasonable, one union leader dismissed the claims as ‘rubbish’.
Just three out of 33 government schools – Mont Nicolle, Bel Royal and St Peter’s – were due to be open today, along with the special needs facilities at La Sente/La Passarelle and Highlands College. Eight secondary and 22 primary schools will close, the Education Department confirmed.
The National Education Union, whose members will mark the day of strike action with a lunchtime rally outside the States Assembly, called on the Education Minister to intervene and act to halt the erosion in teachers’ pay.
The NEU has rejected an offer from the States Employment Board that the long-running dispute be settled by arbitration. The other main teaching union, the NASUWT, whose members started indefinite ‘work-to-rule’ action last week, is considering whether to accept the move to arbitration.
Unions are requesting a 15.4% pay rise, which they say factors in inflation and compensates workers for real-terms pay cuts in recent years.
Assistant Chief Minister Andy Jehan, who is vice-chair of the SEB, said teachers’ pay had risen by 22.5% since 2013, with inflation increasing by 24.1% over the same period. He said a qualified entry-level teacher would earn 26% more in Jersey than they would be paid in Guernsey.
Mr Jehan also queried the strength of feeling among teachers, citing turnouts for recent ballots of 59% (for the NEU) and 51% (NASUWT).
Chief Minister Kristina Moore said that meeting teachers’ pay demand would be inflationary and that there was a duty to all Islanders not to fuel the cost-of-living challenges they were experiencing.
During question time in the States Assembly, Deputy Rob Ward, a former teacher and ex-union leader, read a quote from Carl Howarth, president of the Jersey branch of the National Association of Headteachers, about the Island ‘facing an unprecedented crisis in recruitment and retention within education’.
Assistant Education Minister Richard Vibert denied there was a crisis, but this brought an angry response from Marina Mauger, of the NASUWT.
She said: ‘He [Mr Vibert] is talking rubbish – he should get himself into schools and find out how many vacant positions there’ll be come September.’
Mr Vibert added that ‘most businesses would be proud’ of having an attrition rate of 3.6%. However, Constable Simon Crowcroft hit back, saying: ‘It’s astonishing to hear the minister speak of pride and success when teachers are about to strike in the Royal Square.’
Members of Reform Jersey were among the most prominent critics of the government in the States yesterday, with Deputy Geoff Southern accusing Mr Jehan of using ‘weasel words’, while Deputy Ward said that not enough was being done to retain experienced teachers, who were leaving the profession ‘because it just wasn’t worth it’.
The next talks between unions and the SEB are set to take place on Friday, with time running out if the dispute is to be resolved before the end of the academic year on 21 July.
Adrian Moss, classroom teacher and joint branch secretary for the NEU, said: ‘Education runs on goodwill and teachers have run out of goodwill. The lack of recognition of the actual time that teachers work has fuelled anger over the below-inflation pay rise that has been offered not only this year, but over many years since 2008.’
