Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
REID
THE 20,000-MEMBERS strong Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) will be seeking an urgent meeting with incoming Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, following the organisation's rejection of Govern-ment's salary offer.
"We cannot guarantee a smooth start of the next school term unless we receive a satisfactory salary package from the Gov-ernment," JTA president Ruel Reid informed The Sunday Gleaner.
Yesterday, the General Council of the JTA unanimously rejected the Government's offer of a six per cent increase on basic salary for the
average public school teacher in the first year and five per cent in the second year of the 2006-2008 contract period. Tertiary level teachers are being offered a 10 per cent increase in the first year and eight per cent in the second year.
AN INSULT
"The association believes that this offer is an insult to the hardworking and dedicated teachers of Jamaica," remarked Mr. Reid. The association had initially demanded a 30 per cent increase in year one and 25 per cent in year two.
A "major sore point," he explained, is that the new offer includes the hardship allowance Gov-ernment granted public sector workers last year under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to compensate for a rising cost of living triggered by increased utility rates.
This, he said would create the "most massive anomaly in the public sector salary scales," noting that as a result of this, persons who are paid higher in the salary scale, would get a lower percentage increase.
NO MOU TALKS
Teachers and other public sector workers have not had a salary increase for two years as a result of an MoU between the Government and the Jamaica Confed-eration of Trade Unions, which resulted in a wage freeze. The MoU is expected to come to an end on Friday.
Mr. Reid said the General Council of the JTA also unanimously decided to withdraw from the discussions being led by the Technical Committee of the MoU Monitoring Committee and pursue alternative mechanisms to negotiate increase on basic salary and benefits.
The JTA boss said teaching is the only profession that has a specific tax geared toward improv-ing the education budget and to assisting with teachers' salary.
"We are demanding that the Government use the incremental increase in education tax to help fund the salary budget for teachers," said Reid. Government collected approximately $7 billion from the education tax last financial year.
The JTA is the first
of approximately 30
bargaining units that are slated to negotiate a new heads of agreement with Government effective April 1. Last night Wayne Jones, vice-president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) said the umbrella group had not yet reached a position in terms of rejection
or acceptance of
Government's salary offer to public sector
employees.
