The States Employment Board have been locked in a dispute with the National Education Union and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers – with members of both unions taking part in industrial action.
And, despite representatives from the NASUWT and the SEB meeting last week, no agreement has yet been reached.
The NASUWT has reacted angrily to a letter sent to all teachers from States chief executive Charlie Parker – claiming the SEB is ‘seeking to mislead teachers’ and that the letter ‘threatens to derail the whole process’. Details of the letter are below.
The development increases the prospect of further strike action after the majority of Island schools were disrupted on several occasions last month.
NEU members held eight days of strike action throughout May causing schools to either fully or partially close, while NASUWT members have effectively been taking part in ‘work to rule’ industrial action but did not join the NEU in May’s walkouts.
Neither union have confirmed whether they will propose further strikes but NEU regional secretary Ian Stevenson has said their members have been left with ‘few options’ while an NASUWT statement said it was ‘even more important that members fully implement the action instructions’ that they are currently part of.
A NASUWT statement said that although recent talks had been ‘largely positive’, the letter had damaged the potential for further meaningful negotiations.
It said: ‘The NASUWT representatives made clear their profound dissatisfaction and opposition to its contents.
‘In particular, the letter appears to imply that a trade-off of terms and conditions in return for an enhanced pay award is being contemplated. The NASUWT would never contemplate any such trade-off and will not consent to such a proposal.
‘The NASUWT has been clear from the outset that no proposals will be acceptable if they lead to a deterioration of members’ terms and conditions of employment. We have maintained consistently that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and members will be consulted on any potential settlement.
‘There can be no doubt that this development threatens to derail the whole process. The NASUWT General Secretary will be writing to the SEB, setting out our deep concerns about this unacceptable way of seeking to conduct negotiations, including seeking to mislead teachers about the issues under discussion. There is no doubt that the constructive atmosphere that the negotiations have been conducted in to date, has now been placed in serious jeopardy.’
Mr Stevenson added that the failure to bring forward a proposal to end the dispute had brought negotiations to ‘breaking point’. He said: ‘The NEU meets with it members today to decide how to further progress its aim of achieving a fair pay award and give consideration to further strike action. The NEU has scheduled further talks with the employer to start Wednesday.’ He added that NEU representatives had set an initial deadline of yesterday to bring a new offer and that if there was to be ‘any prospect of reaching a settlement of this dispute the employer, after weeks of delay and prevarication, needs to bring forward a viable offer.’
Mr Stevenson also said that NEU members had two choices – to either trust the SEB to bring an improved pay offer or to continue with strike action.
HIGHER pay offers could be made later this week – in exchange for ‘sustainable savings and efficiencies’, the SEB deputy chair has said.
Assistant Chief Minister Richard Buchanan said it was likely that negotiators would be authorised to make an improved offer.
The current offer on the table, which covers 2018, 2019 and 2020, includes:
- A consolidated increase in pay from 1 January 2018 of 2%, and an unconsolidated one-off payment of 1.1%.
- A further consolidated increase of 2% from 1 January 2019, and an unconsolidated payment of 1%.
- An increase of inflation pay of 1.3% from 1 January 2020. The current forecast for inflation is 3.1%.
Meanwhile, Mr Parker’s letter, a copy of which has been seen by the JEP, referred to a ‘50-50 gain share’ whereby savings made through education reforms would be split evenly between teachers and the States as part of Mr Parker’s commitment to deliver government efficiencies.
Mr Parker said: ‘We are still negotiating the detail of the gain-share arrangement, but central to our thinking is that this will provide a means by which everyone can contribute to educational reform in direct and active support of this government’s unanimously agreed Common Strategic Policy, a primary focus of which is to put children first. I would invite you to contribute your own ideas on reforms that could generate efficiencies.’
He added that financial constraints within the Medium Term Financial Plan had made 2018 and 2019 offers difficult and said that ‘the idea of freeing up more money from 1 January 2020 was put forward’ and that the SEB were ‘now in intensive discussions’ about how further funds over and above the current offer could be identified.
Mr Buchanan said the SEB met yesterday to discuss progress made so far and was ‘very likely to authorise negotiators to make a further offer’. He said: ‘This would involve a higher offer, in exchange for sustainable savings and efficiencies that strengthen educational outcomes for our children and young people.
‘We are inviting teachers and their unions to work with us to identify those efficiencies which can then be shared with teachers from 1 January 2020. As well as resolving the pay dispute and ending disruption to education, we intend that this collaborative approach, involving teachers and unions at every step of the way, will help build trust and reinforce the value that we all place in our teachers.’
