Wage negotiations ongoing for teachers, JTA tells members
The Jamaica Teachers’ Association is advising its members that the union remains in dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and Public Service as it relates to the compensation restructuring exercise.
In stressing in a release Monday that “negotiations are ongoing for teachers”, the JTA told members that “no pronouncements by government at this time applies to this sector, particularly those represented by the JTA.
“The association awaits the conclusion of all deliberations with our employers and anticipates as well favourable adjustments to the compensation package on behalf of all our members,” the JTA said.
Fourteen public-sector unions covering 60,000 workers last month inked a wage agreement with the Government giving workers a four per cent increase for a year.
Meanwhile, the JTA said while it awaits a response to a number of critical areas presented to the technocrats in the Ministry of Finance during a recently held meeting, it requests that the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Education and Youth also move with alacrity to attend to several other important matters affecting teachers.
It said these include non-payment of a number of teachers for the period September to November 2022; non-payment of monies to teachers who facilitated the Summer and Homework programmes initiated by the education ministry during the recent pandemic; and release of hundreds of post codes from the Ministry of Finance that will see teachers who have been working up to seven years in schools, receiving their permanent letters which would enable them to access tenured benefits.