Daily Bulletin

Thursday, August 29, 1996

Compensation called "somewhat low"

"The issues surrounding the Social Contract and salary equity between UW staff and staff in similar jobs in the public sector were tied for the number-one issue," the summary says. "Maintaining the number of current staff positions was third followed by improved pension and benefits. . . . The number-one reason people believe that their level of compensation is low is related to receiving consistently high performance ratings during the Social Contract years yet remaining low in their salary range."

Association president Mark Walker writes that when they were asked for general comments, the largest number of staff wrote about "equity", including "staff versus faculty issues, the Social Contract, and the relationship between staff salaries and job classifications both on- and off-campus." He says those comments were an influence on the staff compensation committee when it worked this summer to produce a salary increase for staff and other recommendations: "The commitment to review the current performance appraisal system, the Hay evaluation program and the comparability of the UW salary structure with that of public and private sector employers is the first step in this process."

Staff members will see the first evidence of that pay increase in the monthly deposits for August, due tomorrow (pay slips arrived yesterday). The increase is retroactive to May 1, and the pay hike for May, June and July will arrive as a lump sum with September paycheques.

Restaurant walkers hit campus

"The Walk-Fit program is a wonderful way to be healthy by walking in the peaceful and stress-free environment of the campus," said Kelly-Sue Labus, a former UW kinesiology student and director of marketing for the nearby restaurant. "The ring road walk is a good way to promote the beauty of the campus, which many people in the Waterloo community don't know about."

She said a total of 50 people -- 35 of them "full-time walkers" -- have signed up to walk three different routes on campus, including the nearly two miles of ring road. The two shorter routes take in the pathways around the engineering and physics buildings and South Campus Hall.

Labus said the Walk-Fit program ties in with the restaurant's health-conscious menu, offering an assortment of salads and baked foods, among other items, but no fried foods. Every morning at the Waterloo restaurant, located at University Shops Plaza, Walk-Fit participants sign a calendar page and record their mileage on a daily basis. Walkers include office staff, home-makers, university employees and students. Prizes, such as free coffee and muffins as well as T-shirts and sweatshirts, are given to walkers who complete a set mileage during the program, which ends October 31.

Notes on Ingrid Bergman's birthday

The engineering computing service is sponsoring a workshop next Wednesday on "teaching with compressed video". It should be of interest, says Jane Webster in management sciences, to "anyone interested in using compressed video for presentations, seminars, meetings, or interviews". It'll be conducted by Dan Howes of ADCOM, and runs from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, Webster is at ext. 5683, jwebster@mansci1.

I've just seen the new UW poster, for distribution to high schools, and is it ever gorgeous -- a fall-foliage picture looking up the Engineering Lecture steps to the Dana Porter Library, with happy students, bicycles, leaves and blue sky. If that doesn't get the young folks thinking Waterloo, nothing will.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond -- credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004 Comments to the editor | About the Bulletin Yesterday's Bulletin