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Crying foul over municipal salaries

Recently much has been made of the “exorbitant” level of municipal salaries for management staff.

Recently much has been made of the “exorbitant” level of municipal salaries for management staff. Someone, self-described as the municipal financial watchdog, loudly decries the compensation for such folk.

He draws generalized comparisons with Walmart’s manager who manages only some 100 staff — if that — and who responds to Sam’s emails arriving daily, if not more frequently, instructing as to the detailed management of the store.

He does not, however, mention the compensation of the manager of Catalyst’s mill in Crofton. Why not? Because Catalyst would never reveal their compensation package. Nuff said.

As to controlling municipal salaries, one alternative is for council/board to give the management bargaining team an overall mandate which it cannot exceed, and clearly take the position that council/board will take a strike or lockout over that mandate. Only then, council/board would grant management staff the same dollar increase, not percentage increase, as the highest paid unionized position.

The effect of this strategy would be to maintain a fixed income gap between union and management staff (as well as between all management positions).

Even North Cowichan councillor [Al] Seibring should buy into this notion of taking the decision out of the hands of management; oops, unless a strike looms and then the politicos’ backpedaling would be furious.

More of the same. What’s that definition of insanity?

 

Pat Mulcahy

Saltair