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Fall 2015 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 39
Solstice stops by
Tamara McArthur, shore excursion manager with Celebrity Cruises, snaps photos of the harbour on her first trip to Nanaimo Monday. McArthur joined hundreds of passengers who disembarked from the ship Celebrity Solstice for a day of exploring Nanaimo and the region. The ship will be the last to visit Nanaimo for the 2015 Alaska cruise season and wraps up its journey in Vancouver today (Sept. 22).
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The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association is in the process of conducting a review that could lead to wage increases for school administrators in Nanaimo. The B.C. government froze management compensation in September 2012 and the association, which acts as the bargaining agent for B.C.’s public school boards, plans on conducting the Sectoral Exempt Staff Compensation Review Project examining wages and benefits for principals, vice-principals and management staff. According to information provided by the association, the government recently announced interim relief as it moves to transition out of the compensation freeze, so it was timely for the association to help boards in a market review. A substantive review
hasn’t taken place since 2009. The review will be completed in conjunction with school districts and will look at all elements of compensation packages: annual salaries, health and welfare benefits, vacation and other paid time off. The process will take several months and is estimated to be completed early in 2016, according to the association. Graham Roberts, Nanaimo school district secretary-treasurer, said it isn’t a general wage increase and will be done by individual job. “It may be some districts that don’t get anything, there may be some districts that get small amounts, there may be some that get [increases]. What our financial impact is, we will not know for a while yet,” said Roberts. He said elementary principals in the district earn between $97,000 to $104,000, depending on school size,
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM
while vice-principals earn about $90,000. Secondary school principals earn between $112,000 to $123,000, while vice-principals earn $100,000. Steve Rae, Nanaimo school board chairman, said whether administrators will get a raise has not yet been determined. “They need to be treated fairly and whether or not that is a raise, it’s not for me to say yet. It’s way too early in the game to say that, but if in fact, somebody hasn’t had a raise since 2010, I think they deserve to be brought up to current levels.” The findings will be part of a submission to the provincial government, after Nanaimo and other boards of education have reviewed and approved it. Western Compensation and Benefits Consultants will assist the association with the review.
Compensation under review for school district administrators BY KARL YU
I
FACILITATOR ENTERS second phase to build relationships with city councillors.
Relations on council are still a work in progress, says Mayor Bill McKay, as politicians enter a new phase with a facilitator that’s expected to cost thousands more. Nanaimo city council has spent $50,000 on the first phase of work with a facilitator from The Integrity Group, hired by McKay to help politicians get along. Council is about to continue with a second phase, which the mayor says could cost another $25,000 to $50,000 more. So far there have been no improvements, according to McKay, who said it’s a work in progress but there’s a willingness to continue. “Our council, they want to be productive. They want to get things done. Having somebody help you determine what tools you can use to interact, to communicate, to achieve some of the goals you are trying to achieve on a common basis, that’s going to help us immensely,” McKay said. The work is also about creating a “safe and respectful workplace” for employees, of which city council has one – city manager Ted Swabey. Coun. Wendy Pratt called the work with The Integrity Group a sincere effort to resolve a difficult issue and she is hoping for success, even though she doesn’t know if it will be possible. Coun. Gord Fuller said he hasn’t seen any results and has no idea where the effort with the facilitator is going, adding that part of the problem is the lack of communication by the mayor. Neither is Fuller there to make friends – his goal is to help his community, he said. McKay said he does not know when the work is expected to wrap up.
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