PSRC Meeting
April 5, 2006 11:00 – 12:30
Attending: Stu Austen (Chair), John Drozdoff, Brian Evans, Ann Fong, Mike Mouat, Klaus Reiniger, Roman Ruegg (Ex-officio), Anne Trudel
Guest: Jim Hanlon
J. Hanlon spoke to the Committee and talked about various scenarios designed to address salary and performance compensation issues. Although the bonus program has been abandoned he personally felt that the concept has merit. Discrepancies between what TRIUMF and other industries pay specialized workers such as research scientists and engineers continue to grow however, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain the quality of personnel that the lab needs to operate successfully. The amount of the discrepancy is different for each of the internal employee groups as well, further complicating the matter. Finally, even basic cost of living increases cannot be properly administered. There is simply not enough money in the existing salary budget to resolve all of these problems and many people feel that TRIUMF undertakes too much for the infrastructure staff that it has.
It was noted that some money could probably be freed up if leaves of absences and transitions to part time work were encouraged. This, coupled with the scaling down of TRIUMF’s many ambitious goals, could ensure that the quality of the lab’s work remains high.
J. Hanlon left after his presentation, leaving the Committee to discuss various other administrative matters.
S. Austen (ex-PSRC Vice Chair) will take over A. Trudel’s position in the PSRC in light of her recent appointment as Manager of Environmental Health and Safety and subsequent resignation as PSRC Chair. M. Mouat agreed to assume the role of new Vice Chair after a nomination and unanimous vote. The Committee agreed that a new member should be brought in to keep it at full strength and S. Austen will see if the results from the last election are still available. The person with most votes who not currently a Committee member but is still interested in joining can do so in the position of member-at-large. S. Austen thanked A. Trudel for her work in the PSRC over the years.
The discussion about the salary situation identified by J. Hanlon continued. There was a consensus that people were against the bonus system. More importantly people clearly feel that they can no longer do a good job because too much is asked of them. The additional burden imposed by the Quality Assurance program and its documentation requirements has yet to make its full impact. The goals of any reorganization should explicitly address these matters as well as the salary situation identified by J. Hanlon as they are the most pressing issues facing the laboratory at this time.