Petrina Francis, Education Reporter
THE JAMAICA Teachers' Association (JTA) wants teachers who are not members of the organisation, but who benefit from negotiations, to pay 90 per cent of its membership fees.
"For too long they have sat on the fence and benefited from the sweat and tears of others without making a contribution," said Ruel Reid, president of the JTA.
Mr. Reid said a similar situation called 'Agency Shop' exists in the Bahamas where once a union represents a specific group of workers and all persons in that profession benefit, then those who are not members have to pay 90 per cent of the fees paid by members.
But Mr. Reid noted that there have to be amendments to the Jamaican Constitution because forcing teachers to join would be infringing on their right of freedom of association.
Mr. Reid could not give a time frame as to when the law would be implemented but noted that he would be in discussion with the Ministry of Education at its monthly meeting next month.
The JTA president said the task force report on education speaks to teachers being members of a professional organisation.
Currently there are 24,000 teachers in the education system and 20,000 of them are members of the JTA. Members are required to pay five-eighths of one per cent of their gross salary. This means that if a teacher earns $40,000 per month, he or she is required to pay $250 per month for JTA membership fee.
