JTA president says teachers still unclear how new wages calculated

 

Newly installed president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), Leighton Johnson says teachers are still uncertain about how their pay is calculated under the recently completed wage component of the public sector compensation system.

 

Speaking with reporters at the end of day two of the annual JTA conference, Mr. Johnson said teachers are anxious to have the issues resolved. He described the formula for the calculation of statutory deductions as "complicated". 

 

He suggested that although Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke had promised that the new wage regime would have simplified the process of compensation, the teachers have no indication this is so. 

 

"To date, teachers still do not understand how their pays are calculated. When they go to the bank each month a different sum is remitted. And we have found in several instances where a person's regular salary is constant, but the amount of monies that is taken out of the salary for taxes fluctuates. These are questions that are unresolved, and we need answers to these," he asserted. 

 

Mr. Johnson said the issue of the graduate allowance is also outstanding. He said under the new regime, teachers are no longer compensated for upgrading their skills and earning higher university degrees. 

 

"It is not what we agreed to. And at this point, we are insisting that the government holds true to the agreements as outlined in the memorandums of understanding," the JTA president pleaded.   

  

He has warned that having written to the ministries of Finance and Education in relation to the outstanding issues facing its members, teachers are prepared to take action if they do not receive a satisfactory response by the association's next general council meeting in late September.

 

When pressed, Mr. Johnson declined to say if the course of action would include a strike. 

 

"I will not respond to that at this point. Ladies and gentlemen, the fact is the Jamaica Teachers' Association is following a particular process and that's the line that we will take. We have options, and at the appropriate time we will activate or machinery to ensure that the government responds." 

 

Education Minister Fayval Williams is expected to deliver an address on Wednesday, the third and final day of the 59th annual general conference of the JTA.