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Jersey's largest teaching and education union has confirmed two multi-day strikes over the continuing pay dispute.
Members of the NEU will strike on 17 and 18 October and again on 14, 15 and 16 November – the union said that all 33 States' schools would be affected with "large numbers" due to close to students.
At a meeting with their employer on Wednesday, the NEU declined to enter arbitration with no further pay offer on the table, saying they would not "forego their rights to participate in open negotiation, take industrial action and allow a third party to make a decision for our members via arbitration".
Nick Childs, Senior Regional Officer, said: "We have little faith in binding arbitration that saw members in Guernsey have a below inflation pay award imposed earlier this year. We are calling on the States Employment Board to engage in genuine negotiations over the erosion in teachers' pay. To date negotiation has been minimal. This is how we will resolve this dispute."
Fellow Senior Regional Officer Caryn Symons accused the SEB of not sharing their values and commitment to "Jersey and the education for the children living on the Island".
"Our teachers deserve better. We have repeatedly shared our concerns about retention and recruitment and the education crisis that exists in Jersey. Our members share with us frequently their concerns around the cost of living in Jersey and the struggles of paying the bills and making ends meet," she said.
Video: Recent strike action in July saw the Chief Minister met with booing as she emerged from the States Chamber to meet the crowds.
A statement released by the SEB said that the door was effectively closed to a resolution of the dispute this year but that talks for 2024 with "the potential of a multi-year pay settlement" would begin later this month. Teachers have now received an uplift of 7.9% consolidated pay in August, and a backdated amount to 1 January 2023 in the September pay run.
Members of the other main teaching union, the NASUWT, withdrew from taking strike action following an agreement with the SEB to implement the consolidated 7.9% pay award, and subsequently backdate the pay award to 1 January 2023 but remain in dispute.
SEB Vice-Chair Constable Andy Jehan said that they had hoped they could reach a conclusion to the dispute. "We were prepared to put our case to an independent person through 'binding arbitration' and be bound by their determination, having put forward a fair and reasonable offer. I know there are many teachers who want to just get on with the job without disruption, and I am equally sorry that continued industrial action impacts them as well," he said.
Previously asked whether there was money available to meet teachers' demands, Treasury Minister Ian Gorst responded: "There's no money in Treasury. Islanders pay money and Ministers and the Assembly decide how to spend that money. So all of this, 'Oh, there's lots more money for me to do my thing'... Well, 49 different people could say, 'Well, there's more money for me to do my thing'."
He said he thought 7.9% was already a "fair offer", adding: "It was a fair offer to all States’ employees. It’s fair to teachers, it's fair to other employees, because they've largely accepted it."
He continued: "I think it’s actually reasonable for taxpayers as well – they are the ones who are providing the funding.
"So, I agree with States Employment Board that the next step should be to go to arbitration.
"All sorts of things have been said about arbitration but my experience is that arbitration is fair. They look at the numbers, and they come to a reasoned conclusion.
"One of the reasons employers generally don’t like to go to arbitration is you think you might have to give some more, but the States Employment Board is being totally fair and transparent," he continued:
Treasury Minister Ian Gorst has said he thinks 7.9% "is a fair offer to teachers".
Deputy Gorst continued: "If there's a problem, let's go there. Now, there is also there another question about what do we want for our education system for the future?
"It seems that we’re fixating on the pay award and I said what I said about that, but actually, there's probably more work to be done to think about our education system more broadly and wider.
"That's why we put £11m into the inclusion work last year and more this year, as well. But as far as I’m concerned, and as a Minister of this Government, we stand ready to have those wider conversations about what we want our education system to look like in the future."
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