Despite the challenges of the recent past, Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver says he is cautiously optimistic that the Government will make the association a reasonable offer when they meet for their next round of salary negotiations on May 20.

“I am optimistic that the Government has seen the merit of our case. We believe that we have made a very strong case to them in terms of key items on the list of claims, and we continue to maintain that our teachers must be paid a salary in keeping with their value and their worth,” he said.

Malabver expressed the view during an interview with The Gleaner, following his address at the JTA’s Helen Stills Professional Development Day for Teachers, which was recently held at the Grand Palladium Hotel in Hanover.