Tuesday, February 15, 1994

IT'S PANCAKE TUESDAY, but so far as we can tell, there are no pancakes
on the food services menu anywhere on campus today.  Village 2 is
promising "potato, zucchini and carrot pancakes" for tomorrow.

NOW HUMAN RESOURCES:  UW's personnel department has a new name, announced
in a memo from the provost yesterday.  "Effective immediately," Jim
Kalbfleisch wrote, "the Personnel Department is being renamed the Department
of Human Resources.  Similar name changes have already been made in many
public and private sector organizations.  The new name more accurately
reflects the responsibilities of this department."

STUDENT VOTE:  Federation of Students elections start today, with polls
open from 9 to 4:30.  Locations:
	Arts Lecture Hall main foyer
	Math and Computer third floor
	Earth Sciences and Chemistry main floor
	St. Jerome's College lower level
	Optometry main foyer
	Carl Pollock Hall main foyer
	Matthews Hall main foyer
	Environmental Studies 1 first floor

Undergraduates are voting for a president and two vice-presidents for the
Feds.  In addition, all students can vote for an at-large member of the
UW senate; arts students can vote for an arts undergraduate senator; and
math students can vote on a proposal for an "endowment fund" and fee to
support the quality of education.  Voting winds up tomorrow.

NEWSGROUP FORUM:  The Computer Science Club holds its "forum" today on the
issue of computer newsgroups, and the action of UW officials in blocking
access to five of them on grounds of obscenity.  The forum starts at
3 p.m. in Arts Lecture 116.

TAX ON BENEFITS:  With finance minister Paul Martin set to deliver his 
first federal budget a week from today, Jim Kalbfleisch -- UW's provost
and chair of the pension and benefits committee -- has written to Ottawa
about rumours that the budget will introduce a tax on employer-paid 
health care plans, like the one for UW faculty and staff.  A copy of the
letter was issued yesterday by Dave Dietrich of the personnel department
(oops: human resources), who is resource person to the P&B committee.

Says the letter, in part:

	Our employees are already coping with significantly reduced
	paycheques owing to Ontario Social Contract reductions and
	higher provincial taxes.  Treating employer contributions as
	taxable income to employees would increase taxes for employees
	and further reduce paycheques at a time when low consumer
	confidence is impeding economic recovery.

	If employer contributions were made taxable, healthy employees
	would end up paying more in taxes than they received in benefits.
	This would create strong pressures for exemptions from
	employer health plans, and could ultimately lead to their
	destruction.

	I urge you not to tax employer contributions to private health
	plans.

THE JOB FAIR:  From 10 to 4 today, Partnerships for Employment takes place
at Bingemans Conference Centre in Kitchener, sponsored by UW and three
other post-secondary institutions.  Students who want to drop by to see
about permanent, summer or contract jobs can take a shuttle bus from 
UW's Campus Centre; Victoria Street North is a long way to walk.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs
credmond@watserv1    ext. 3004