Clarke: No truth to claims Finance Ministry not communicating with JTA

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke is rejecting suggestions his ministry has failed to respond to teachers' concerns regarding outstanding salary issues resulting from the public-sector reclassification and compensation exercise.

The issue was expected to top the agenda at tomorrow's meeting of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), with court action among the options being considered.

However, Clarke says an initial meeting set up to resolve some of the issues was postponed at the request of the JTA, and the parties have been communicating to find a suitable date to have the discussions.

Clarke's full response to The Gleaner:

We note your story titled “JTA to receive advice on court action over salary discontent” published only  Thursday July 13.  Here are the relevant facts:

At a meeting with members of the JTA Executive on May 30, 2023, the JTA presented examples of reported anomalies in a schedule, some with copies of payslips. The Transformation Implementation Unit individually reviewed and checked each of these cases and the re-calculations show that there were no errors in any of the calculations in the cases brought forward by the JTA in that meeting. However, there were issues in some of the conversions. This information was communicated to the Secretary General of the JTA by phone call on Friday, June 9. The MOFPS (Ministry of Finance and the Public Service) also indicated its availability to take members of the JTA Executive through these recalculations, step by step.

At the May 30, 2023 meeting, the JTA raised two policy matters, which centre on a difference of interpretation. These matters were delegated to a Technical Review Committee consisting of members from the JTA and technocrats from the Ministry of Education and Youth (“MEY”) and the MOFPS. The MOFPS proposed a date in early June for the first meeting of the Technical Review Committee. This date was agreed to by the JTA and the MEY. Subsequently, however, the JTA requested a rescheduling.

Later, on June 22, the JTA proposed a date of June 27. Within a few hours of receiving that proposal the SHRMD (Strategic Human Resource Management Division) responded that the new proposed date conflicted with pre-existing commitments.  On July 5 the JTA proposed a date of  July 10. Again, the SHRMD responded that this date also conflicted with pre-existing commitments. The SHRMD and JTA continue to dialogue to agree on a suitable date for all parties for the meeting of the Technical Review Committee.

The MOFPS remains committed to continuing to work with the JTA Executive in the interest of Jamaica's teachers and the Jamaican public.

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