Williams: Gov’t made ‘very good offer’ to teachers; awaits JTA response

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.