By Robbie White
Editor, the Gauntlet,
Re: "When a ‘thank you’ isn’t enough," Jan. 24, 2002,
Recently some of my fellow commissioners expressed concern about our remuneration process. This bothers me, I feel our time should be focused more towards student concerns. Mr. Vuckovic thinks the general feeling among commissioners is that this process needs to be reformed. I do not think this is true, and if it is, I’m worried about my fellow councillors’ priorities.
I do not think that all commissioners fully understand how the process works. Each Vice-President has a set guideline on how much to pay for certain things and assigns a dollar amount according to the commissioner’s monthly report. The total is added up and brought to an executive meeting. At this point in time all five executives and a staff member assess the figure at hand. It would be very unlikely that a VP could successfully pay a commissioner less than they deserve.
If a commissioner feels that their VP has been unjust, there are steps he or she can take to solve the problem, such as the review board. Just like Mr. Ho stated, if you have problem with your supervisor, take it up with them. I think a little more open discussion outside of SLC meetings could do this council wonders.
Finally, no one should be a commissioner for the money. We are here to do our best to support students, not to do our best to make $300 each month. We have many perks as commissioners such as the occasional free concert, office space, hockey games, free dinners, and a plethora of other benefits. The money we receive as a commissioner often seems petty compared to the work we do, but I think we’re all privileged to be in the position we are.