Speid fires parting shot at teachers’ Appeals Tribunal

WESTERN BUREAU:

Owen Speid, immediate past president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), is urging the Government to throw out all cases against dismissed teachers that have lingered before the Appeals Tribunal for more than nine months without a trial date being set.

Speid, whose tenure ended with this week’s elevation of Jasford Gabriel to the top post, said that the association is extremely annoyed by the prolonged delay in settling cases.

“The heightened awareness that educators were waiting in excess of three years for them to get an actual date for hearings at the Appeals Tribunal really irked us as an association,” said Speid, who was making his final address as president at the 56th annual conference of the JTA in Montego Bay.

Gabriel also expressed frustration with the situation and was supportive of the view that the Appeals Tribunal should accelerate the hearing of cases.

“It is inhumane to have teachers whose cases were submitted as far back as 2017 still awaiting a hearing,” said the president.

Gabriel, who will serve as president of the JTA for the administrative year spanning September 1, 2020, to August 31, 2021, said he hoped to see the tribunal adopting a business-like approach in the handling of cases.

“We are hopeful that a refreshing change will be brought to this distasteful situation, which has been like an albatross around the neck of our teachers,” added Gabriel.