This follows Government's announcement Friday that it would not be able to afford the wage bill for the upcoming financial year.

Mnister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Dwight Nelson, held talks with teachers and nurses Friday, after a frank presentation at the University of the West Indies, where he lamented that the $149 billion wage bill at the close of the 2008-2009 fiscal year was not affordable. He added that Government was contemplating "hard and harsh" measures to cut government spending and tighten its budget.

Not reneging

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner yesterday, President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) Doran Dixon said Govern-ment informed teachers of its position Friday afternoon but insisted that it would not be reneging on any of the commitments in the two-year agreement made with the group in October of last year. That agreement was to bring the teachers' salaries within 80 per cent of their private-sector colleagues' monthly emoluments.

Dixon said that the Government's position coming out of Friday's meeting was that it had every intention to pay, but that a discussion was needed.

The agreement, which came into effect in December of last year, has retroactive payments outstanding for the periods covering April 2007-March 2008 and April 2008-November 2008. The payments are to be made in June and April, respectively. The teachers are also expecting a seven per cent increase in their salaries in 2009-2010.

"We have put a counterposition on the table, which is saying to the Government that it can't be nothing," Dixon told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday.

"But we are not unreasonable people," Dixon said, adding that he recognised that the Government might find it difficult to honour the agreement at the scheduled time, given the negative economic climate.

"But on the other hand, we are saying that teachers are not going to be able to survive if nothing happens, so we have put a position on the table which we feel would allow us to go back to our members to say let us meet the Government halfway," he said.

2008-2010 revision of teachers' salaries and allowances

Salary per annum (high end)