TEACHERS in the Isle of Man will not be balloted over possible strike action concerning a row over pensions.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has said Island teachers will not be balloted like teachers in England and Wales.
Andrew Shipley, the Isle of Man Branch Secretary for the ATL, said: "As the disagreement is with the English government, it is teachers who are members of the English Teachers Pension Scheme, who have a teaching contract in England or Wales, who will be balloted for industrial action - hence members on the Isle of Man will not be balloted.
"Even if there is a decision for strike action as a result of a ballot of members in England, there will not be a strike of teachers on the Isle of Man on this issue. There is however a lot of concern on the island over the issue.
"Mr Teare, Minister for Education and Children, is correct in saying that the Department of Education and Children do not play a part in pension negotiations and what happens on the Isle of Man in terms of pay and pensions is determined by what happens in England."
The pensions row has stemmed from the Hutton Report – an independent review that looked at public sector pensions in the UK.
Mr Shipley said the ATL rejected key points of the report. He explained: "We understand what he is trying to achieve but we do not agree with his recommendations as we believe that he has failed to consider the actual jobs being undertaken.
"The negotiated pension changes to the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS) introduced in January 2007 had a mechanism to ensure that the pension scheme was self sustaining, but the government in England has failed to carry out a triennial valuation of the scheme as they should have, preferring to arbitrarily raise contribution rates.
"We also believe that other proposed changes such as a move to a CARE scheme, changing from RPI to CPI, increases in retirement age which do not consider the roles being undertaken, the ending of access to the TPS for the non maintained sector, have not been thought through carefully, along with their associated risks."
Mr Shipley also revealed that the ATL has written to the Secretary of State Michael Gove asking for steps to be implemented which would allow all parties to come together to talk.
