Minister mum on impact of teachers’ protest on students
Published:Saturday | March 11, 2023 | 1:03 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
While it remains unclear as to whether there will be fresh wage negotiations between the Jamaica Teachers’ Association [JTA] and the Ministry of Finance, Education Minister Fayval Williams appears to be taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to the situation, which could have a significant impact on the education sector going forward.
Since last Friday, the nation’s teachers have been staging sit-ins, calling in sick, and on occasions wearing black to show their displeasure with the compensation package being offered to them by the government. Those protests have sparked calls from the National Secondary Students Council for measures to be implemented to make up for the lost teaching time.
But, in a brief media interview yesterday, which followed her keynote address at the opening of the Manning’s School’s new Victor Lowe STEM Centre in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Williams was reluctant to address the effects the teachers’ protest was having on students.
“With regards to your direct question about teachers and what students are asking for and so on, I would say, let us allow the process through to its completion, and then we will begin to talk about those things. Right now, I think the focus ought to be on the teachers and the negotiation through which they are going with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and just to allow them that time to do those very important negotiations,” said Williams.
The minister’s comment comes two days after the JTA voted to reject the government’s compensation package during a special delegates’ conference at the Mico University College in Kingston. Of the 578 ballots which were cast, 346 delegates elected to reject the offer, while 227 accepted it. Four ballots were deemed spoilt, and one was rejected.
In a media release on Wednesday in the aftermath of the JTA’s meeting, the organisation announced that it would be writing to the Ministry of Finance to request fresh negotiations.
“In light of the overwhelming rejection [of the compensation package], the JTA will be writing to the Ministry of Finance and Public Service outlining the outcome of the meeting and seeking an improved offer and a request to return to the bargaining table at the soonest possible time,” the release stated.
In a follow-up release on Thursday, the JTA urged teachers to return to work to facilitate the return to the negotiation table.
A circular sent out from the Ministry of Education has suggested that teachers who have taken part in the widespread protest could be hit with deductions from their salaries and leave entitlements, as well as other disciplinary sanctions.