The Martlet

[b]Executives to take pay cuts[/b]

The UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) executive directors are taking some time off — kind of.

“Given the budgetary pressures of the UVSS, the executives have decided to take a number of days off during the summer because we want to reduce the cost to the UVSS,” explained UVSS Director of Finance Kelsey Hannan. “We’re saving the UVSS money because our wages are a lot.”

Each of the four executive directors earns $1030.50 in gross salary for a two-week pay cheque, representing 37.5 hours of work per week. They have all decided to reduce their hours — and therefore their salaries — by 10 per cent this summer by taking time off, usually on Fridays. Combined, there will be a savings of about $3,500 for the UVSS.

Hannan says the initiative shows a commitment to financially helping the UVSS.

“Everyone here needs to be making an effort to reduce the costs and we need to be part of that too,” he said.

Last year, the UVSS’ operating deficit was about $25,000. In addition, the UVSS has an accumulated debt of about $268,000.

Currently, the executive’s are only taking pay-cuts for the summer, though Hannan says they will look into continuing to doing so for the fall.

Other ways the UVSS is looking to decrease its debt include increasing advertising revenues, decreasing inefficiencies in Student Union Building (SUB) businesses and possibly using a portion of the Dr. Ewing Memorial Fund to pay down the debt. Hannan says that while the fund has been used to pay down debts before, it should only be used temporarily for immediate debt reduction. He says that, ultimately, the UVSS needs to post a positive budget this year, but doing so will mean making some tough choices.

“The amount we’re spending right now is not sustainable,” said Hannan.