Yellow Fever
October 16th, 2009, 09:22 AM
VANOC to pay staff $30 million in Olympic bonuses
By Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver SunOctober 15, 2009 8:02 PM
VANCOUVER — Vancouver’s Olympic organizing committee is planning to pay about $30 million in bonuses to its employees once the Olympic Games are finished.
The payments will be available to all employees, and will be distributed based on their position and the amount of time with the organization, a Vancouver Organizing Committee official said Thursday in a statement.
According to a report released earlier this month, VANOC has 1,302 full-time workers. If bonuses are distributed only to those workers — which is unclear, given the committee has not fully explained the program — the average payment would be just over $23,000.
Critics say this is an excessive amount of money, given the economic challenges facing taxpayers and the Games.
VANOC officials were unavailable to speak publicly about the program, but on Thursday evening, the organization released a brief statement.
“We have a responsibility to all Canadians to stage great Games and to do so it is critical we retain our team until the end,” read a written statement attributed to Dave Cobb, executive vice-president and deputy CEO of VANOC.
The statement said previous organizing committees have lost as many as 12 employees a month in the last 12 months before the Games.
“We established a package designed to retain, manage and keep people right through Games-time that is based and calculated on length of service and seniority,” read the statement
“This helps us reassure our employees — particularly in the face of a challenging economy — that they can complete their commitments without the pressure of trying to find a new job or being recruited in the final months before the Games.”
The statement did not give specifics about the payments, explain how many employees will be eligible or give any details about the largest expected amount.
In a separate e-mail, a VANOC official who could not be quoted, said the money for the bonuses comes from the operating budget and is funded by private revenue sources, such as television rights, sponsorships and ticket sales.
The official added that the bonus payout may be less than $30 million, depending on the final number of eligible employees.
Kathy Corrigan, New Democratic Party critic for the Olympics, said Thursday she believes there is value in retaining employees for the Olympics, but feels $30 million is too much, especially given the current recession.
“It seems like a lot to me. That’s a lot of money,” she said, adding the money could have been used to pay for a number of programs that have been cut recently by government.
“I think particularly in these times, some people may look at those bonuses and say, ‘Wait a minute, all the rest of us are being asked to tighten our belts,’ ” she said. “At the same time, there doesn’t seem to be any desire to cut back on the Olympics.”
Minister of State for the Olympics Mary McNeil was not available for comment Thursday.
A member of her staff did point out the program was identified in a public document released by VANOC in 2007.
That document said $44.5 million had been budgeted for “additional compensation costs,” such as “annual salary escalation for all VANOC staff and their retention.”
No breakdown was given for bonuses at that time.
Vancouver Sun
jfowlie@vancouversun.com
They should give thousands of volunteers bonuses as well.
By Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver SunOctober 15, 2009 8:02 PM
VANCOUVER — Vancouver’s Olympic organizing committee is planning to pay about $30 million in bonuses to its employees once the Olympic Games are finished.
The payments will be available to all employees, and will be distributed based on their position and the amount of time with the organization, a Vancouver Organizing Committee official said Thursday in a statement.
According to a report released earlier this month, VANOC has 1,302 full-time workers. If bonuses are distributed only to those workers — which is unclear, given the committee has not fully explained the program — the average payment would be just over $23,000.
Critics say this is an excessive amount of money, given the economic challenges facing taxpayers and the Games.
VANOC officials were unavailable to speak publicly about the program, but on Thursday evening, the organization released a brief statement.
“We have a responsibility to all Canadians to stage great Games and to do so it is critical we retain our team until the end,” read a written statement attributed to Dave Cobb, executive vice-president and deputy CEO of VANOC.
The statement said previous organizing committees have lost as many as 12 employees a month in the last 12 months before the Games.
“We established a package designed to retain, manage and keep people right through Games-time that is based and calculated on length of service and seniority,” read the statement
“This helps us reassure our employees — particularly in the face of a challenging economy — that they can complete their commitments without the pressure of trying to find a new job or being recruited in the final months before the Games.”
The statement did not give specifics about the payments, explain how many employees will be eligible or give any details about the largest expected amount.
In a separate e-mail, a VANOC official who could not be quoted, said the money for the bonuses comes from the operating budget and is funded by private revenue sources, such as television rights, sponsorships and ticket sales.
The official added that the bonus payout may be less than $30 million, depending on the final number of eligible employees.
Kathy Corrigan, New Democratic Party critic for the Olympics, said Thursday she believes there is value in retaining employees for the Olympics, but feels $30 million is too much, especially given the current recession.
“It seems like a lot to me. That’s a lot of money,” she said, adding the money could have been used to pay for a number of programs that have been cut recently by government.
“I think particularly in these times, some people may look at those bonuses and say, ‘Wait a minute, all the rest of us are being asked to tighten our belts,’ ” she said. “At the same time, there doesn’t seem to be any desire to cut back on the Olympics.”
Minister of State for the Olympics Mary McNeil was not available for comment Thursday.
A member of her staff did point out the program was identified in a public document released by VANOC in 2007.
That document said $44.5 million had been budgeted for “additional compensation costs,” such as “annual salary escalation for all VANOC staff and their retention.”
No breakdown was given for bonuses at that time.
Vancouver Sun
jfowlie@vancouversun.com
They should give thousands of volunteers bonuses as well.