The Jamaica Teachers’ Association, JTA has lambasted two government ministries for their failure to respond to major issues affecting the nation’s teachers.
Hundreds of public sector teachers are experiencing issues with salaries paid out to them, under the restructured compensation system.
The JTA says there are discrepancies and anomalies with the wages received.
Other issues such as retroactive pay and maternity leave are yet to be addressed by the government.
JTA President LaSonja Harrison says letters have been written to the Ministries of Finance and Labour about the issues, however, they have not yet responded.
She says only the education ministry has made efforts to address the issues and has met with the association.
However, the issues have not been resolved.
Mrs. Harrison says the lack of a response from the Labour and Finance Ministries shows the scant regard the government has for teachers.
While noting that educators should not be begging the government for a response, she urged her colleagues to remain resilient.
She was speaking during a press conference this afternoon.
Meantime, the JTA President has suggested that the same formula which was used to calculate the new salaries for members of the political directorate, should be used to calculate those of public sector teachers.
There has been widespread public outrage over the massive salary increases granted to parliamentarians and other political representatives, while other public sector workers such as teachers continue to experience salary issues.
Responding to questions during a JTA press conference today, Mrs. Harrison said while teachers are not begrudging of the massive salary increases members of the political directorate are getting, teachers want what they deserve.