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The Retirees' Newsletter

The Faculty and Librarian Retirees' Association, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada

Issue # 21 -- February, 1997

OUR RETIREES' BURSARY FUND FOR STUDENTS

NOW STANDS AT $25,000.00 TOTAL

JUST OVER TWO YEARS AGO, at the Association's Fall General Meeting, 1994, the membership overwhelmingly approved a motion that a bursary fund be set up to assist needy students at the University of Windsor.

TODAY, TWO YEARS LATER, THAT FUND STANDS AT $25,000.

IF ANY PROOF WERE NEEDED of the dedication of the Retirees and their Association to the welfare of the University of Windsor and its students, that has to be it!

WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THIS PHENOMENAL GROWTH?

FIRST AND FOREMOST has been the determination and enthusiasm of the retirees themselves. They have given generously of their money and of their time. Two Bursary Committees have worked hard to contact retirees and urge them to give. And members of the Association have responded. The present Committee chairman is Cormac Smith.

SECONDLY has been the foresight of Ontario' Government, which has set up a dollar-for-dollar matching scheme for Bursary Funds such as ours. That arrangement will go on till the end of March. So you still have six weeks to see your dollar contribution double in size!!

OUR PRESIDENT'S REPORT

by Edwin Habib

In Issues #19 and #20 of The Newsletter, it was reported that there would be a 2.5% increase in the Minimum Guarantee for members who retired prior to September 1, 1995. This was part of the new Collective Agreement, but this increase has not yet been realized. It seems that there is some problem with the interpretation of a ruling by Revenue Canada. I do not know the precise wording of the ruling and my efforts to find out have not been successful. In the meantime, some of us did get the increase from Canada Trust without any explanation, and subsequently this increase was deducted, again without any explanation. I find it unsatisfactory that we had not been informed officially that there was a problem with the administration of the increase, and I am appalled at the way Canada Trust acted.

I understand that the Faculty Association and the Administration are meeting to resolve this problem. I hope that a favourable conclusion will be reached before the Association's Spring Meeting in March.

I would like also to pay tribute to Bill Phillips for putting together and distributing The Newsletter. It involves many hours of tedious work collecting news items, planning the layout, typing columns, checking addresses and finally posting the papers. In addition, Bill also performs the duties of treasurer and secretary to the Association. This publication keeps us in touch with our colleagues and the events that are important to us. As a matter of fact, in writing this report I find that I can say very little which has not already been said in The Newsletter.

There is one exception, as I have said above, and that is, "What happened to the 2.5% increase in the Minimum Guarantee?".

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