Happy 2010! VANOC staff gets 1.5% pay hike

The first Olympic event of the winter of 2010 in Vancouver was... ta-da!

The Pay Raise.

On Jan. 4, VANOC employees got a good news email from the head of human resources. Effective Jan. 1, their pay was increased by 1.5%. That's half-a-percent less than a year earlier, but who's going to complain? After all, it's not like the economy is booming anymore.

It's yet another spending initiative handled by the VANOC board that was not communicated to reporters after the last closed-door board meeting of 2009 on Nov. 18. On May 20, the VANOC board also voted to spend $8.3 million of taxpayers' money on B.C. Place Stadium capital works for the opening ceremony. That was kept hush-hush until the June 16 release of a quarterly financial report. Even then, VANOC executives refused to give details. I finally solved that riddle on Jan. 4 after receiving an April 14, 2009 report about what the ceremonies producer needed to make a world-class show.

What other secrets lurk within VANOC?

Read the memo below, send your comments to bob.mackin@sunmedia.ca or post them below.


From: Donna Wilson
Sent: January 4, 2010 12:31 PM
To: Vancouver2010
Subject: 2010 Salary Increase

Welcome to 2010! I hope that all of you were able to find some time to rest and refresh over the holidays. It's hard to believe that we're in the final stretch, and in less than 3 months we will be celebrating the successful delivery of the Games. All of your effort, drive and commitment to excellence is appreciated.

As many of you know, the current economic times have challenged our creative thinking as an OCOG. Notwithstanding the times we're in, at the end of 2009, the VANOC Board of Directors approved a 1.5% salary increase for all VANOC employees for the final months of this project, starting January 1, 2010.

Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to staging Canadaʼs Games. As said in our own words...

"Vancouver 2010 creates a climate of possibility that helps us to discover the greatness inside ourselves... It awakens us to the idea that we are all giants inside."

Cherish these last few precious moments. Be big, be bold.

Happy New Year,

Donna

Donna Wilson
Executive Vice President / Vice-Présidente de Direction
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Comité d'organization des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d'hiver de 2010 á Vancouver
400 - 3585 rue Graveley Street Vancouver, B.C. (C.-B.) V5K 5J5
Phone / Téléphone: (604)403-XXXX Fax / Télécopieur: (778) 328-2079 Email / Courriel: donna_wilson@vancouver2010.com Website / Site Web: www.vancouver2010.com