Dear Editor,
Please allow the opportunity to thank Dr. Jerry Jailall for his very empathetic letter about teachers, seen in SN of October 09. That teachers, possibly more than others, need cars goes without question, except that they will need salaries to be able to afford their maintenance.
Here for Dr. Jailall’s information is a sample of current salaries included in a compensation structure established since the colonial era. In all, the Budget shows 19 scales, except that the following contain sub-grades: TS1 – 4; TS2 – 3; TS5 – 3; TS7 – 2. Interestingly in TS1 the minimum and maximum of each subgrade is the same. In effect there are no scales. The whole TS1 scales range from $79,377 – $90,599 (the same maximum as TS2A).
It should be mentioned that the Grading system is tied to certification which however includes:
Temporary Unqualified Teacher
Temporary Qualified Master III/II
Trained Teacher
Non-Graduate Senior Assistant Master
Non-Graduate Senior Master
Untrained Graduate Master
Graduate Deputy Head and Graduate Head
The above are all on scales the average width being some $23,000, although the scales are never utilised – in terms of increments related to performance (e.g. CSEC results).
But what is most derisible concerns the highest ‘scale’, which is termed SPECIALIST – yet it is a fixed salary – e.g. for Principals, GTI. CPCE and others.
En passant, Dr. Jailall, and others, may be interested to see the following sample of (in) comparabilities between Public Service and Teachers compensation structures, the former’s top grade being 14:
Public Service Teaching Service
14 – $469,671 – $831,010 Special – $356,140
13 – $389,650 – $684,111 TS19 – $315,557 – $338,508
12 – $315,206 – $536,991 TS18 – $298,568 – $321,506
11 – $256,052 – $411,914 TS17 – $280,172 – $303,128
What continues to be ludicrous is that neither set of scales has been utilised, ever since the introduction of across-the-board increases – signifying the fact that none of the administrations has shown any appreciation of compensation management, albeit related to performance. Nor from more recent appearances, have their client unions.
Yours faithfully,
E.B. John
