SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Placard-bearing teachers at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) have accused the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) of lobbying poorly on their behalf in wage negotiations with Government.

While teachers and students at other schools around the island wore the Jamaican colours — black, green and gold — as they celebrated Jamaica Day, protesting STETHS teachers wore mainly black as they staged a sit-in at the Santa Cruz-based school.

“As it relates to the JTA, we feel abandoned, we feel neglected because every time the JTA goes into a negotiation with the Government the principals come away better off,” one of the teachers said during the sit-in.

JTA President La Sonja Harrison told the Jamaica Observer that the association continues its duty of representing teachers. “The Jamaica Teachers’ Association has no comment at this time. The teachers have expressed how they feel [and] we continue to represent all categories of teachers in the negotiations,” she said.

Said one STETHS teacher: “The classroom teachers are the biggest group; we are the ones who do the work. We are the backbone of the nation… The principals actually have been moving vertically on the scale [but] to date, we [teachers] have not moved vertically on the scale. We are rejecting lateral movement because we want a vertical push on the scale,” added the educator.The teachers are calling on the JTA and the Government to see them as “relevant”.

“We are the backbone of society and we are being treated as if we do not matter, and if we strike or sit-in it does not matter. Something has to happen. Something has to start somewhere and today it is starting at STETHS, so we say no to the Government’s offer [and] no the JTA,” said another STETHS teacher.

Principal of STETHS Keith Wellington told the Observer that the school was “managing” despite the protest by teachers on Friday.

“I’m not saying that we have not been affected [but] we are managing.” Some of the activities that were planned for the day, he said, were not held, “but we are going through with others”.

On Wednesday the Jamaica Observer reported the clearest indication yet that the Government was about to settle wage agreements with some of the major public sector groups, after Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke on Tuesday announced that $4.3 billion has been tacked on to the budget for this fiscal year, which ends on March 31.

The police, doctors, and teachers are some of the major groups which have refused to sign off on the new compensation package so far.

In the meantime, chairman of the People’s National Party Region Five Kern Spencer, who spoke with the teachers at STETHS, called on the Government to resolve issues for the wage negotiations.

“It is a shame that our teachers have to be waiting for so long [yet] we are hearing about the migration of teachers as so many teachers are leaving the education system. Government needs to put a plug on the matter now [and] settle with the teachers immediately, and give them what they deserve,” said Spencer.