( L - R ) Cameron, Holness

The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) yesterday warned that there could be major disruption to the start of the new school year, as the Government has failed to present a full salary offer to the association ahead of its 44th annual conference next week.

According to the 22,000-member strong organisation, there has been significant disquiet among teachers on the matter, and this could affect the smooth reopening of schools in September.

"If teachers are unhappy, all sort of things can happen," Dr Adolph Cameron, secretary general of the JTA, told The Gleaner yesterday.

He added: "We are not definitively saying that it is going to happen but it is likely to."

The Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee of the JTA met yesterday to get an update on the progress of the salary negotiations for teachers.

Very disturbed

The committee, the JTA said, was very disturbed that the Government would not be providing the association with a full offer on salaries and benefits for presentation to the annual conference, because the study to realign the salaries of teachers was incomplete.

The realignment of salaries was part of a 2006/2008 heads of agreement. The previous government had promised to complete the study by last year but that was not done.

Cameron claimed the firm that was contracted to complete the study said a report would have been ready by June 30. However, that deadline was missed and a new date for July 31 was set. This, too, was missed.

Doran Dixon, president of the JTA, will on Monday be sworn in as president. He will replace Ena Barclay, who served as president for one year.

On Wednesday, Minister of Education Andrew Holness and his team will address the more than 300 delegates.

Holness told The Gleaner last night that he believed it did not serve the country well to use the smooth operation of schools in the bargaining process.

"The Ministry of Education and this minister of education always bear sympathy and gives quiet but active support to the teachers of Jamaica in their quest for appropriate remuneration," he said.

He noted that the details and mechanisms needed to attain this goal require reason and patience.

He said his understanding was that the delay of the study was not necessarily the fault of the Government, but caused by the difficulty the firm was having in gathering data on private sector remuneration.