THE JAMAICA Teachers' Association's (JTA) Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee will meet today to discuss the Ministry of Finance and Planning's latest wage offer, delivered to the association yesterday.
The JTA had asked the Government to make changes to 12 of the 29 points in the claim submitted in ongoing teacher salaries and benefits negotiations for the 2002 to 2004 contract period.
Sadie Comrie, JTA president, said yesterday that the committee would meet at 10 a.m. at the JTA's Church Street, headquarters, Kingston, to review Government's responses but declined to comment on whether the requested changes have been made.
"We were waiting on some information with regard to some of the items from the Ministry of Finance. We were expecting to get it up to Monday but it was not forthcoming so we gave them until today. We have received the information now so therefore we are going to take it from here," said Mrs Comrie. She, however, refused to reveal what changes were being sought until after the meeting.
JTA and Finance and Planning Ministry representatives are scheduled to meet this month after agreeing to postpone a meeting late last month.
In December, last year, the JTA rejected a document from Government which suggested that the state had decided to discuss, as two separate issues, the wages and benefits for the 2002-2004 and plans to move teachers' salaries to 80 per cent of the market rate. The reported suggestions from Mr Fitz Jackson, Minister of State for Finance, that the teachers accept one or the other of the two issues, upset JTA officials, prompting them to release a scathing statement, describing him as arrogant and showing a lack of respect for teachers' professionalism. The Government later changed its position, deciding to discuss the issues separately.
In October, the JTA had also rejected an offer from the Government, instead giving the Government an ultimatum to come up with a serious and realistic offer on their 29-point claim for improved salaries and fringe benefits on behalf of teachers in the public education system. The Government had reportedly made offers on only seven of the 45 items submitted in the previous JTA claim.
A steering committee to co-ordinate work leading to the realignment of positions in the teaching service with those in other sectors of the public service, has been meeting.
An agreement between the ministry and the JTA resulted in the technical work being undertaken by an independent consultant. The consultant is to complete the project by March 2003 and it has been agreed that any adjustment to the remuneration of teachers out of the realignment will be retroactive to October 2001, the JTA said.
