Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Andrew Holness administration is adamant that no increment payments will be made to teachers nationwide for April, contrary to what they were told by the powerful Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) trade union.

The Ministry of Finance points to a JTA memorandum dated April 23 to its membership from secretary-general Dr Mark Nicely that stated the ‘ministry had outlined’ its incremental payments should be made during the first quarter of the 2025-2026 financial year.

Such a pronouncement, the ministry contended, “finds it incredulous that the leadership of the Jamaica Teachers Association should at the same time indicate to its membership an April timeline for payment that was not agreed, especially given the need for costings to be determined to inform payments.”

The finance ministry is reiterating its commitment to the payment of increments negotiated through the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), hinting that it would be at a later date and not April as stated by the JTA.

In the meantime, discontent is building among public school teachers over the seemingly delayed payment of annual increments, pushing it beyond the April pay cycle demanded by the JTA.

Teachers across several institutions have been informed by their bursars that they will not receive the benefit this month.

The JTA had been pushing for the payout to start this month. During negotiations with the finance ministry, the JTA, through the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, agreed that the effective date for the payments is April 1. 

The ministry acknowledged that the payments should be made within the first quarter, but advised that it has until June to begin the payments if it intends to remain compliant with the negotiated terms.