WITH teachers turning their backs on the Government’s latest wage proposal, Finance Minister Fayval Williams says the Administration believes it put forward a “very good offer” and is now awaiting further communication from the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) on its position and the way forward.

Williams was responding a Jamaica Observer query Thursday after the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service signed a wage negotiation agreement with the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), marking a significant development in the wider public sector wage negotiations.

But while the Government has reached a tentative wage settlement with the JCTU, the dispute with the JTA remains unresolved, with Williams telling the Observer that the Administration is awaiting word from the teachers’ union as to how it wants the negotiations to proceed.

The JTA rejected the Government’s latest wage offer at its 62nd annual conference in Trelawny on August 18. Of the 213 votes cast by delegates, 155 were against the offer, 54 were in favour, and four were rejected.

Newly elected JTA President LaSonja Harrison subsequently said the union would formally notify the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service of the outcome, and request the earliest possible date for negotiations to resume.

A week after the JTA rejected the proposal, Williams acknowledged the union’s dissatisfaction but said the Government would wait to see what position the association takes when it comes back to the ministry.

“We put forward what we felt to be a very good offer to the JTA. At their most recent conference you heard the incoming president speak. There is nothing I can add to that until we hear back from them, whether in writing or in a meeting, as to what their thoughts are [and] what the go-forward is,” she told the Observer.

“They have indicated that they are not satisfied, and they listed some of the items. So, at this point, we can only wait and see what their posture is when they come back,” she added.

The JTA’s rejection was driven by concerns that extended beyond the basic salary component of the Government’s proposal. Harrison said delegates had raised several outstanding issues during their deliberations, including the remote inducement allowance, uniform package, protective clothing, and graduate allowance.

On the uniform package, Harrison pointed to what she described as a significant disparity between the provisions for teachers and the existing public sector uniform policy.

“The Government of Jamaica has three or four levels in the uniform policy, and the smallest remuneration package is $135,000, yet the Government has offered the teachers not one of the four categories, but $38,500,” Harrison said.

She argued that the proposed amount does not allow teachers to fit into the categories established under the policy.