Dear Editor,

The recent announcement by Dr Mark Nicely, secretary general of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), that members must make contact with the regional offices in order to rescind their membership is not only an act of barefaced contempt, in my humble opinion, but it also lacks legal reinforcement.

The JTA has no legal authority to prevent any member from terminating his or her membership with the association. They join of their own free will and they are entitled to leave under similar condition. It is the teachers who give instructions for deductions of dues to be made and it is the teachers who give instructions for deductions to discontinue.

For the secretary general to be advising that any member who wishes to leave the association must first consult with the JTA is not only misleading and erroneous but devalues the intelligence of the membership. It is my humble opinion that the JTA should apologise for the communication sent out that members must first consult with it in order to rescind membership. I am calling on the leadership to correct this misinformation with immediacy.

I chose to terminate my membership in January 2023 and all I did was write to the JTA advising that I no longer wish to continue my membership and I wish to discontinue my monthly payment of one per cent of my salary. I also wrote to my employer and gave instructions that all monthly deductions should discontinue to the JTA as I no longer wish to be a member and the JTA is so advised.

The legal advice I received simply stated that we have no obligation to ask permission to leave the association. Therefore, I don’t think the communication regarding termination of membership by the JTA was nicely done.

It is my humble opinion that the JTA is going to lose a lot more of its members if the association does not change course and become more impactful in the professional lives of all of its members. You can nicely mark my words. The word is always love!

Andre A O Wellington

Former JTA member

Dean of Discipline

Alston High School

andrewellington344@yahoo.com