Not so, Minister!
JTA president rejects Shaw’s claim of 26 per cent increase to teachers
A PROPOSAL by Finance Minister Audley Shaw, which could see teachers receiving a 26 per cent increase over a four-year period, was staunchly rejected by President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Georgia Waugh Richards, who says that teachers are livid and exhausted. The finance minister stated in his Budget presentation on Thursday that when performance-based increments are taken into consideration, public sector workers could end up with combined increases of 26 per cent over four fiscal years, ending 20202021.
Shaw also pointed out that the Government has sought to “ease the burden” on public sector workers by reducing pension contributions from 2.5 per cent in the first and second years by allowing a one per cent payment over five years.
Waugh Richards, who was addressing a press conference, which was held at the JTA’s offices i n downtown Kingston yesterday, said that the pronouncements by the minister were unfortunate.
“The minister spoke to a 2.5 per cent increment that he suggested teachers receive at the end of every year, and if that 2.5 per cent is added over the four years, then the teachers would have seen a 10 per cent increase,” said Waugh Richards. “At this point, we wish to indicate that not all teachers qualify for that 2.5 per cent increment as teachers who would be at the top of their scale, referencing the 11-point and six-point scale, no longer qualify for that 2.5 per cent increment,” she said.
“Those teachers would also have to sit, at that point, for three years before they can apply for what is called a seniority allowance. So with that, it is not an automatic increase on teachers’ salary. We wish to inform the public that it is, in fact, not so.”
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