JTA to discuss latest salary offer, looking forward to further negotiations
Published:Saturday | August 30, 2025 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver says that, following the Government’s latest offer of a two per cent wage increase to teachers in the first year of a four-year period, he is looking forward to further discussions with a view of finalising a satisfactory wage deal.
In a brief statement to The Gleaner on Friday, Malabver confirmed that the JTA has received the most recent wage offer from the Government in writing. The association had been awaiting the written confirmation of the offer before proceeding with its internal deliberations with its members.
“I cannot say the negotiation is progressing positively, but what I am prepared to confirm is that we have received an offer in writing, and our internal processes will now take effect to treat with the offer as per usual. After which, we will give a formal response to the Government,” said Malabver.
“We have a press release that is coming out shortly, and it will highlight the key points of the meeting, and it is actually being drafted as we speak. But we look forward to continuing the negotiations,” Malabver said.
The JTA’s response on Friday is the latest update following a series of meetings the group has had with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service along with representatives from the Joint Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).
During the JTA’s recently held 61st annual conference, Malabver had warned that Jamaica’s teachers could take industrial action if the Government did not improve its initial four-year wage offer of zero per cent in the first year, tantamount to a wage freeze, followed by 2.5 per cent in each of the remaining three years.
“If we take industrial action, it is you who will have to write a letter to the Ministry of Labour … . You are going to have to pick a side this time, pick a struggle, so side with us and not against us,” Malabver told Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon during his inaugural presidential address at the conference.
The improved offer of two per cent in the first year was made during the JTA’s meeting with the finance ministry on Thursday. That meeting, which followed a previous wage negotiation meeting with various unions on August 21 and subsequent meetings held between Monday and Wednesday this week, also saw a commitment being made that other aspects of the claims submitted by the JTA would be addressed.
Among the claims the JTA had submitted during its negotiations are requests for more guidance counsellors and social workers, infrastructural reviews, and fencing for school properties to improve their security measures.