By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterTHE JAMAICA Teachers Association (JTA) has appealed to its members not to go on strike or take other forms of industrial action until it meets to discuss their recommendations regarding Government's wage offer and decide the next step.
The meeting is set to get under way about 10:00 this morning at the JTA's headquarters on Church Street, downtown Kingston.
The JTA is expected to review the responses and recommendations of thousands of teachers and decide how to proceed in light of the overwhelming rejection by teachers of Government's latest wage and fringe benefits offer covering the 2002 to 2004 contract period.
"The JTA will be meeting to look at all the recommendations now coming in from the 14 parishes and as a result, we will instruct our members on what the next step will be," explained JTA president, Sadie Comrie yesterday.
"We will also inform the Ministry of Finance of our intentions. We will send a formal letter to the Ministry of Finance, stating that the parishes have rejected the offer," she added.
"We are asking them to hold strain until they hear from us tomorrow. That simply means that they are to do what they would normally do," Mrs. Comrie said yesterday.
The more than 20,000 teachers have been in a militant mood since reviewing the wage offer during parish meetings held last Thursday and Friday. Incensed at what is being offered for the 2002-2004 contract period, several members have proposed that teachers strike immediately to get a better response from Government.
The Government has proposed an increase of three per cent in year one and three per cent in year two on teachers' basic pay, which starts at $406,977 per annum for diploma trained teachers; $408,197 yearly for university graduates not trained as teachers; $529,775 each year for university graduates trained as teachers; $405,153 gross for specialist teachers and $621,167 for 'Master' teachers. There are also additional increases depending on years of experience and increments.
Mrs. Comrie said Friday that Government has agreed to give teachers their increments in percentage, based on the level they are on the scale, instead of at a fixed rate. The Government has offered 2.15 per cent, below the JTA's request of 2.5-3 per cent on the increments, a type of bonus given to teachers per year until teachers reach the top of their scale.
Teachers then have to apply for a seniority allowance after about three years after reaching the top of the scale.
In addition, Mrs. Comrie said, "For the teachers who study on their own time, who do part-time study and qualify themselves, we asked for 50 per cent of their tuition to be repaid to them and that was accepted."
However, the Government has refused a claim by the teachers for motor vehicle duty concessions to those who have given more than 10 years of service to the profession, as well as transport allowance for all teachers.
In addition, the Government has not supported the call by the teachers for parcels of land to be set aside in each parish to provide them with housing solutions, as well as housing allowance to those teachers who were not currently benefiting.
They also want to see speedy action and better explanation regarding plans to bring teacher salaries to 80 per cent of market.
Some teachers, among them teachers at Friday's meeting in St. Catherine, have claimed that they are willing to lock down the system indefinitely. They are also insisting that salary negotiations should be completed before Local Government/Parish Council Elections, slated for March.
The slow pace of the negotiations is also proving to be a bone of contention for the teachers. The wage claim was presented to the JTA's Salaries Committee in February 2002, and wage negotiations with the Ministry of Finance and Planning have been on-going since June, last year.
