IF GOVERNMENT accepts the recommendations from consulting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, there will be a $2 billion increase in the total wage bill for teachers for the 2002-2004 contract period, sources say.
The recommended re-alignment of teachers' compensation with that of public service workers would lead to an average wage increase of 19.5 per cent.
The draft proposal, being discussed by the 76 District Associations of the Jamaica Teachers' Association throughout the island, and the JTA's executive executive, has highlighted salary increases for non-tertiary teachers, ranging from 14 per cent for the "Master Teacher I" to 34 per cent for the "Principal of Primary IV".
For example, the consultants have suggested an increase in the salary of the "Principal Secondary (IV)" from $1,011,909 to $1,263,957. Also, "Trained Graduate" teachers would see an increase of 16 per cent, increasing their salaries from $571,285 to $663,118.
According to the proposal, the realignment of compensation would lead to an increase in the wage bill from $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion.
The Government is expected to provide the JTA with the complete document on its final proposal today.
A final decision will be made on Saturday, April 12 at a special conference of delegates called by the JTA, on behalf of the 20,000 public school teachers as to whether they will accept the new offer.
