KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) while signalling its “utmost displeasure” is accusing the Ministry of Finance of dragging its feet in salary negotiations and arbitrarily removing some salary benefits from its workers.

The association says it is frustrated with the non-payment of graduate allowances, non-payment of retroactive mileage allowance, and the pace of salary negotiations for the upcoming period, 2025 – 2028.

It maintained that the current negotiations are to ensure teachers receive the increments which were withheld from them during the last round of negotiations for the 2022-25 contract period.

However, the JTA says having submitted its claim to the ministry in November it has only been called to one meeting despite a March 31 deadline for the conclusion of payment negotiations.

“With March commencing later this week, we have reached the end of our patience. We hereby indicate that we will not accept any attempts to renege on the payment of the annual increments in accordance with the dates specified in the agreement due to the fact that we believe that the MOF has orchestrated the running out of the time by their non-engagement of the negotiation process,” it said in a statement on Monday

The JTA also alleges that the graduate allowance for those applicable should have been paid on April 1, 2024 and said: “We find objectionable and not in good faith the removal of this allowance by the Ministry of Education. We ask for an immediate and absolute return to the agreed payment to the teaching service with immediate effect.”

The mileage payment issue dates back to 2022 for the period between April and November, for which retroactive payments should have been made in the last financial year 2024/25.

“We lament the non-payment of these funds with one pay period left in this financial year. We demand this payment with immediate effect,” the JTA said

The JTA says it “stands ready to negotiate this claim and eagerly awaits a call from the MOF to treat with these very important matters.”