GREEN ISLAND, Hanover — Reiterating that the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) will not accept the Government’s current salary offer, newly installed President Mark Malabver insists that whichever political party forms the next Government, he will continue to push for a liveable wage.

Malabver, who suggested the possibility of industrial action, also hammered home the point that teachers’ call for better pay is not tinged by orange or green.

“There are some who are seeking to colour and conflate the issue. This has nothing to do with politics. This has to do with the livelihood of 25,000 teachers who are drawn from across the length and breadth of this country. Whichever political party comes out victorious on September 3, I will remain fierce in my representation of the teachers,” he said to a round of applause from teachers present during his investiture ceremony.

The ceremony was held Tuesday, day one of the JTA’s three-day 61st Annual Conference currently under way at Princess Grand Jamaica Hotel in Hanover.

According to Malabver, during the August 15 wage talks the Ministry of Finance presented a four-year offer of zero per cent in year one, and 2.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years. He said JTA representatives walked out when Finance Minister Fayval Williams told them there was no new offer and the meeting was not about salary.

“We were so insulted. All we are asking for is a liveable wage,” Malabver told his members.

“We boldly reject this proposal, and somebody needs to tell ‘Auntie Fay’ that zero per cent cannot buy a Probox [motor car],” he argued.

The quip was a reference to a widely panned comment Williams made on All Angles, TVJ’s current affairs show, following the budget debate in March. She suggested that people could make a down payment on a Toyota Probox motor car by saving $2,000 per month over three years.

“I am unmoved, unshaken and I will not back down. Let the message go out loud and clear: Zero per cent is not an offer,” argued Malabver, who said the matter would be put before delegates on Tuesday during a private session.

There was no update on the outcome up to late Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Malabver, who will lead the association between 2025 and 2026, has called on Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon, who was present, to give full support to teachers in their pursuit of better wages.

“You will have to pick a side this time. Stand with us and not against us,” he urged.

In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer in 2019, Malabver had disclosed that he was expected to represent the Opposition People’s National Party in the next parliamentary election.

He was to contest the St Thomas Western seat, now represented by Jamaica Labour Party Member of Parliament James Robertson but was replaced by Marsha Francis.