Wed | May 13, 2026

Teachers now more militant over wage talks, new JTA president warns

Published:Tuesday | August 19, 2025 | 8:56 AM
Education Minister Dr Dana Morris-Dixon (left) talks with Mark Malabver, President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) following his installation during the opening session of the JTA's 61st Annual Conference at the Princess Grand Hotel in Green Isl
Ashley Anguin
Education Minister Dr Dana Morris-Dixon (left) talks with Mark Malabver, President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) following his installation during the opening session of the JTA's 61st Annual Conference at the Princess Grand Hotel in Green Island, Hanover on Monday.

Mark Malabver, the newly-installed president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), is warning that Jamaica's teachers could take industrial action if the Government does not amend its wage offer to the nation's 25,000 educators.

Addressing the JTA's 61st Annual Conference at the Princess Grand Hotel in Green Island, Hanover, on Monday evening, Malabver rubbished the Ministry of Finance's four-year offer of zero per cent in year one, followed by 2.5 per cent in each of the remaining three years.

That offer was made during wage talks held on August 15, when JTA representatives walked out of a meeting with Finance Minister Fayval Williams.

"It is the heights of disrespect for the Government to have offered us zero per cent in year one and 2.5 per cent in each subsequent year. We boldly reject this proposal, and somebody needs to tell 'Auntie Faye' that zero per cent cannot buy a Probox," the tough-talking Malabver told the JTA delegates.

He was referencing a widely-mocked comment made by Williams in March this year, when she suggested that a Jamaican could make a down payment on a Toyota Probox motor car by saving $2,000 per month over three years.

"All we ask is that we are paid a liveable wage...this has nothing to do with politics, this has to do with the livelihood of 25,000 teachers who are drawn from across the length and breadth of this country. The leadership of the JTA is in no position at this time to guarantee normalcy going forward," Malabver continued. "The teachers are now more militant than ever, we are highly agitated, and we will not be insulted any longer."

Malabver also called on Education Minister Dr Dana Morris-Dixon to side with Jamaica's educators as they continue their battle for improved wage agreements.

- Christopher Thomas

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.