NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2024 11 JTA 60TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE LET’S ESTABLISH at the very outset one inescapable, indisputable fact: the JTA, at its very core, is a union. All turns on that reality. It is a union of PROFESSIONALS, and duly registered as such consistent with the laws of Jamaica. The union, JTA, is a member of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions; a founding member of the Caribbean Union of Teachers; Education International (a successor organisation to the WCOTP); and enjoys affiliation with the National Union of Teachers, UK; the Canadian Teachers Federation and several others. The over 24,000 teachers employed in public and private institutions in Jamaica have relied on its services over the last 130 years, and, most assuredly the last 60 years to improve their salaries and general benefits. The Jamaica Teachers’ Association was created to be the bargaining unit for teachers in their quest to earn a salary consistent with their status, skills and social standing in a society which seeks to perpetuate values consistent with a modern democratic society. Negotiations are marshalled and led by a Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee. The current structure of the Committee is the result of the 1964 amalgamation of the five pre-existing sectoral unions (Association of Teacher Training Staffs, representing the lecturers of teacher training institutions; Association of Assistant Masters and Mistresses, representing high school teachers; Association of Headmasters and Head Mistresses, representing principals of high schools, and Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions; and the Jamaica Union of Teachers, created by teachers of primary schools (formerly referred to as elementary schools). The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association reflects this multi-sectoral nature and so crafted the Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee to reflect this. The mandate of the Committee is as follows: It shall, inter alia: 1. Consist of 7 members representing different sections of the teaching service and have the power to co-opt additional members. 2. Keep under constant scrutiny and review the salaries and the conditions prevailing in the teaching service, especially as these relate to members of the Association, examine the salary scales of teachers, to relate these to living standards and costs, to seek to discover their effect on the teachers’ social and economic life, to collect and collate information on the subject and to make such recommendations and representations as will bring the greatest benefit to the members of the Association, and shall investigate and make recommendations for improvement in the teachers’ conditions of service generally, as well as in special cases. The Committee, like all the others, is chaired by a nominee recommended by the President and approved at Annual Conference. The Committee is the largest with representatives from every sector of the education system. The Committee is headed by the chairman who reports regularly to the Council and the Central Executive. It meets regularly or as may be deemed necessary, and is mandated to present reports to Annual Conference, quarterly meetings of the General Council and monthly Central Executive. The President and Secretary General are also members, with the Deputy Secretary General who has portfolio responsibility for the subject providing technical support. The Team may also be assisted by such personnel with expertise deemed necessary by the Committee. HOW IT WORKS The Committee prepares a CLAIM on the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. This claim usually is of a two-year duration, April to March. The claim is the product of submissions gleaned from questionnaire responses received by the Member Services and Industrial Relations Unit and approved at the Annual Conference or the General Council. Submissions from affiliate groups, guidance counsellors in education, etc., etc., also inform the claim. The claim is also informed by other issues brought by members through their representatives, as well as developments in the local industrial scene or regional and international factors which could impact membership positively. Before a claim is tendered to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, a questionnaire is dispatched to all schools in which the Association has members. The work of the Committee is coordinated by the Deputy Secretary General with responsibility for Member Services and Industrial Relations but may include people co-opted specifically for their expertise. There is a component of the Committee called a ‘technical” team which prepares a document which justifies the claim. The negotiating team submits regular updates to the membership. The Committee does not have the power to accept or reject any offer. This is the reserve of Conference, whether Annual or Special, after membership has been fully appraised of the content of the offer. (please use as blurb) The President signs the final Heads of Agreement once the offer has been accepted by votes of delegates. MILESTONES IN NEGOTIATIONS It is important to indicate that the JTA won bargaining rights for teachers only in 1966, two years after its consolidation. 1966 was the year in which the first heads of agreement were signed. It is important to point out also that this negotiation agreement followed the first Education Act (1965) with which the JTA was heavily involved. Some important agreements The Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee Members vote on Government’s Compensation Review in 2024. Teachers read details of the salary offer presented to them at a delegates meeting at Wolmer’s High School for Boys. PLEASE SEE SALARIES, 23
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