I didn’t get what I was due
Dear Editor,
I am distraught by the action of a certain institution at which I was previously employed in St Elizabeth from the period October 2018 to August 2022 in a vacant position as an agriculture science teacher.
During this period I was paid as a pre-trained teacher and I should have received the salary of a specialist teacher. Being a specialist teacher I would have been entitled to allowances such as specialist allowance and protective clothing. This was brought to my attention by other colleagues. I did my investigation and went to the Ministry of Education’s regional office in Mandeville for further consultation. I was instructed by an education officer to get an official copy of my transcript from the college that I attended and two (2) reference letters. This was done and my transcript was sent to the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) for review and was sent back to the regional head office for the process to continue.
When the educational officer began to complete the necessary paperwork some documents were missing from my file. It was revealed that from the period October 2018 – August 2022, there was only one year done for a 503 form that was sent to the ministry for my appointment as a teacher. For the period 2019 – 2022 there were missing 503 forms that would have shown my status of employment for the following periods. Also missing were letters that indicate my assumption of duties for those periods. Letters were done and sent to the school to indicate the annual salaries that I should receive. I asked a colleague to collect the letters on my behalf; the school hasn’t reached out to me to inform me that there was a letter for me.
It hurts to know that after doing my job and when I should be rewarded for what I have worked for I have to be living at the mercy of those who feel that they should pay what they feel, rather than what is stipulated by the Education Ministry.
Teachers find it hard to own their houses because of some of these irregularities.
KM
St Elizabeth