BATTLE lines have now been drawn in the current dispute between teachers in the public school system and the Government.

Yesterday, this newspaper reported that the teachers’ union, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), has suspended all monthly meetings with the education minister, Rev Ronald Thwaites, and is to begin a series of islandwide consultations with its members tomorrow.

The JTA is angry at the minister’s announcement in Parliament last week that the Government intends to cut the paid study leave entitlement now being enjoyed by teachers. Minister Thwaites also said that probationary periods will be extended, increments are to be removed, and steps are being taken to make it possible for teachers to be transferred.

Basically, what we are getting from the JTA is that it was taken by surprise by the minister’s announcement. As such, Mr Clayton Hall, the JTA president, said his association would be writing to the finance ministry to ascertain how the latest heads of agreement between the teachers and the Government was changed.

“We need to ascertain whether his utterances are a new Cabinet decision; we need to ascertain the validity of the heads of agreement that we have signed,” Mr Hall said.

He also appeared to suggest that Minister Thwaites took it upon himself to state that the JTA and the education ministry agreed to a change in the teachers’ conditions of service, saying that such matters are negotiated with the Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Education.

Minister Thwaites, on the other hand, has pointed out that the Government had no choice but to implement the reforms. To do otherwise, he said, would result in Jamaica failing its first performance review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Indeed, the reforms outlined by the minister are included in Jamaica’s letter of intent to the IMF. The question, therefore, is whether Minister Thwaites discussed this with the teachers before the Cabinet signed off on the measures.

Given the minister’s proven commitment to dialogue, we would be surprised if he did not engage the teachers on this issue. However, even if he did not, the point is that the country is now at this most important fork in the road. The choice we now face is which path to take.

On Monday this week, Minister Thwaites told journalists that he had been trying to meet with Mr Hall. On Tuesday, Mr Hall said the JTA will meet with the minister after it has completed its parish consultations.

We suspect that as time passes, positions will continue to be hardened on both sides. That, we hold, is a development that needs to be avoided.

The key here, we believe, is for both parties to calm down and start talking with each other now, because the greatest casualties of any deterioration of this dispute will be our children.