Malabver wants stronger backing from education ministry in JTA wage talks
Published:Wednesday | August 20, 2025 | 12:11 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Mark Malabver, the new president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), is urging the Ministry of Education to provide greater support for the nation’s educators amid their ongoing salary dispute with the Government.
The JTA, which is at odds with the Government over remuneration and other issues, walked out of wage negotiations last Friday, saying that an offer that was made by the Government lacked merit.
In making his appeal to Education Minister Dr Dana Morris-Dixon and Permanent Secretary Dr Kasan Troupe shortly after being installed as president on Monday night, Malabver said: “While you are not the owners of the process, Minister and Permanent Secretary, you have a seat and you have a voice at the negotiation table. You have repeatedly asserted that we are on the same page, that we are not enemies, that we are friends,” said Malabver. “Well, it is time you demonstrate this in tangible ways. Support our cause when we sit at the negotiation table at the Ministry of Finance.”
He said both officials are aware that the teachers’ cause is a just one.
“In the words of Martin Luther King, ‘In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.’ As our friends, your silence at the table to date has been rather deafening,” continued Malabver. “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.”
Last Friday, Finance Minister Fayval Williams proposed to JTA representatives a four-year wage offer of zero per cent increase in year one, followed by 2.5 per cent in each of the remaining three years.
Disservice to profession
Malabver also said that the proposed Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill, which is aimed at regulating the teaching profession, is being misapplied in addressing the issue of student underperformance in Jamaica.
“Anyone who reads the bill in its entirety cannot escape the conclusion that it is a disservice to the teaching profession. It fails to uplift, support, and empower educators, and instead prioritises control, punishment, and disciplinary oversight … . I put it to you that this bill will not solve the problem of underperformance,” said Malabver.
“We are demanding a Teaching Council for teachers, governed by teachers, free from political and bureaucratic interference. We remain committed to constructive dialogue, but we will not take anything for granted,” said Malabver. “We will remain resolute on this matter, and if it means protest, we are going to protest. We have sought legal advice on this matter, and we are prepared to take the matter to court if we have to, but we remain committed to dialogue.”
Meanwhile, Dr Mark Smith the immediate past-president of the JTA, said that the organisation, which represents 25,000 teachers across Jamaica, will not give up its ongoing efforts to secure better wage agreements for the nation’s educators.
“It would have been a wonderful story to tell, to say we would have hammered out the best possible deal, but the truth is the battle continues. Tick-tock. Time and our patience are waning,” said Smith. “We want more in terms of salaries, and we deserve it. It is not charity. We deserve it. The teachers’ patience is waning. Forward ever, backward never.”