Of the 574 ballots cast, a total of 346 voted to reject the offer, while 227 accepted the deal. Four ballots were spoilt and one rejected.

The vote took place at the Mico University College in Kingston.

Some of the nation's educators have been staging sit-ins or have been calling in sick at various schools over the past three days to voice their displeasure at the proposed salaries being offered to them by the Government under the new compensation review.

Some public sector teachers are also upset at the way the JTA has handled the negotiations under the review, and have argued that school principals will mainly benefit from what has been proposed by the Government.

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, has been calling on the teachers to sign the wage offer or risk losing the payment of their back payments for this fiscal year which ends on March 31.

"Teachers, nurses, firefighters, doctors, police, I know that you deserve more, but the truth is, at this time, I cannot do anymore," Clarke insisted during Tuesday's budget debate.

"We can't reach the Promised Land in one step. There will be another opportunity before too long to work together on achieving some of the outstanding goals," he assured. 

Still, the teachers have been adamant that the Government can do more to enable them to have a liveable wage.