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The Government has been accused of deliberately whipping up division on social media over the teacher strikes – while the Assistant Chief Minister leading pay negotiations has been slammed by a union leader for comments described as "inflammatory", "ignorant" and "very insulting" to teachers.
NASUWT's Marina Mauger said that teachers are "incredibly angry and upset that Constable Andy Jehan, who is Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, can speak about them with such a lack of respect and show such disregard for their dedication and professionalism" – and is calling on the Chief Minister to consider whether someone who makes "such offensive comments about a dedicated profession" should remain in post.
Unions NASUWT, NEU and NAHT announced on Monday that strike action by both teachers and headteachers would be taking place in the opening weeks of the new school term, accusing the Government of reneging on a promise to make a backdated pay award of 7.9% for 2023 as an interim move while negotiations over rectifying what they describe as a real-terms pay cut over 15 years continued.
This move had had initially prompted the NASUWT to withdraw plans for strike action announced in July. However, some unions had said they would continue working to rule in protest against "spiralling workloads".
Assistant Chief Minister Constable Andy Jehan – who is also Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, which is the official employer of all public sector workers – hit back at the unions' strike action and claims, saying that the deal would only work if all forms of industrial action ceased.
Pictured: Assistant Chief Minister Andy Jehan.
Noting that the Government was "disappointed to learn of strike days through the press, and not through the accepted channels", he said that the teachers were causing "unnecessary disruption to children and parents after a long summer break" and said that it was important to start discussions on pay deals for future years "with a clear field and a constructive and mature approach".
The Constable continued: “Teachers have already had a 7.9% increase in their pay, which the States Employment Board paid, even though the unions were undertaking industrial action. We did this in good faith."
Describing the Government's position as "not unreasonable", he said that the SEB believed the solution to be “very simple”: “…Both the NASUWT and National Education Union have to write to us accepting the backpay and the end of the pay dispute in 2023, and we will make this payment at the earliest opportunity."
That response was later shared with the Government's Facebook page, accompanied by a number of "teacher strike facts", including that "the average Jersey teacher earns £56,193 per year, with allowances on top up to an additional £18,123", "54% of teachers are at the top of their Pay Scale of £62,316" and that "teachers remain on a final salary pension scheme".
Ms Mauger slammed Constable Jehan's comments as "outrageous, unprofessional and completely unnecessary", claiming that "all he has done is to inflame a difficult situation even further".
Mrs Mauger continued: "We had hoped to find some resolution prior to closing schools however this kind of attitude does nothing but accentuate the divide between the Government and public sector workers.
"It shows how far removed this Government really is from its employees."
Pictured: Marina Mauger of NASUWT.
Describing his comments as "inflammatory, ignorant, ill-thought-out and very insulting to teachers", Mrs Mauger added: "I have no idea who is advising Constable Jehan on his communications, but there will be a government advisor, and somebody should be asking questions.
"The Constable should consider his position and the Chief Minister should be asking whether this is an appropriate role for a person who makes such offensive comments about a dedicated profession.”
The Government's Facebook post also attracted significant backlash on Facebook, generating more than 100 comments. Many were negative, and criticised the "misleading information" in the Government's post.
One commenter accused the Government of posting "selective information given to try and turn the general public against the teachers", whilst another asked: "How about the GoJ stop using their Facebook profile for political spin and engage in proper discourse with vital public sector workers, be they teachers, nurses, doctors et al?"
One islander suggested that the Government was trying to "pit the public against its teachers with irrelevant statistics and scathing rhetoric", and another added: "Education is in crisis thanks to our pitiful Government and the attitude of the SEB who keep trying to constantly demean its employees instead of trying to build trust and promote a positive culture."
Pictured: Commenters suggested that the post by Government was intended to be "divisive".
A teacher commented: "What a shocker of a post: designed only to be divisive and inflammatory. Straight out of the Trump, Johnson, Sunak, Keegan et al playbook.
"Disingenuous spin, half-truths and less-than half the story. Agreements made in good faith reneged upon.
"Shame on you, SEB, Government of Jersey, and Connétable Andy Jehan."
The Government refused to comment further, but confirmed that officials will meet with the NASUWT later this week as part of continuing discussions.
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