11. College and University Retirees Association of Canada - CURAC: A constitution has been written and the first meeting will be held in Halifax in May. WURA can join as a founding member. K. Pryke studied the documentation and made a presentation to the Executive which then approved WURA join in principle. The cost is around 50 cents per member. A member asked what advantage is there to join? The reply was a stronger voice for retirees. Moved: That WURA join CURAC as a founding member. Pillay/Innerd. Unanimous.

12. Committee Reports:

D7 - A. Metcalfe, chair, has called four meetings with no response. He hopes to have a meeting prior to the contract committee meeting.

Bursary Fund - W. Innerd said A. Cuthbert was an enormous help in reducing the 111 applicants to 22 for him to make the selections. It is possible in the future that either the scholarship amount will be increased or the number of scholarships.

Pension and Health Benefits - J. Meyer reminded members that we pay for everything. He said not to underestimate the power of the four committees where we have representation. They do provide a focus. The Pension Plan has always had four managers. There has been some reallocation of asset holdings from Scepter to the other three. A request has been put forward to the Faculty Association for a cost analysis to bring all increments to 1.5 for the Minimum Guarantee. Wilfred Laurier has negotiated increased benefits for retires and they already have good benefits. For U.S. residents, the dental plan is the only benefit that applies at a cost of $45.00 per month for a couple.

13. Other business: J. Malone explained the Leddy Library Card problem, which some retirees have experienced. Cards from 2000 onwards are automatically adjusted once a year. For those prior to 2000 there is an expiration date. Anyone who retired before 2000 should see J. Dalton or G. Hunt. They will manually put in the new expiry date - Dec. 31, 2050.

E. Habib thanked the members for the awards to P. Nolan, K. Chatterjee and himself.

14. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:25.

:

Minutes of a Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Retirees' Association Friday, May 9, 2003, Human Kinetics Building Conference Room

Present: Alan Metcalfe (chair), Stan Cunningham, Wilfrid Innerd, Jerry Malone, John Meyer, Datta Pillay, Kenneth Pryke

Minutes: The minutes of April 8, 2003 were approved as circulated.

CURAC Meeting: Moved: that J. Meyer represent WURA at the CURAC meeting later this month in Halifax. Cunningham/Innerd Moved: that J. Meyer seek a seat on the CURAC Executive for WURA. Innerd/Pryke Unanimous

President's Report: A. Metcalfe reported on the meeting held on

May 5 with President Ross Paul, E. Harbottle and R. LaCivita stating that he believes we are now on a common road. Alan further stated that he believes that R. Paul sees the retirees as a legitimate body that must be heard.

Discussion of Meeting with Ross Paul: A. Metcalfe asked S. Cunningham and D. Pillay to give their impressions of the meeting with R. Paul. S. Cunningham reported that WURA representatives received a very good reception. It was evident at the meeting that the University Administration appreciates the distinction between the Trust Fund and benefits and agree to the importance of the D7 Committee. At the meeting E. Harbottle introduced the idea of a side table to discuss retirees' issues at future contract negotiations. D. Pillay stated that R. Paul was very genuine in asking how he may help retirees. R. Paul is willing to put into writing what was discussed at the meeting.

Some discussion took place as to what the side table is for and how it would function. It was pointed out that we have nothing yet. The Administration and WUFA will have to agree to the principle that retirees will not be ignored. J. Meyer stated that D7 is currently included in the Contract as a letter of understanding and that we should work toward getting it in the Contract as an article. A. Metcalfe agreed saying that is one of the main points in today's discussion and the meeting with R. Paul. We now have to follow this up with WUFA.

Moved: that A. Metcalfe contact B. Brown to meet with the original 3 representatives of WURA, and J Meyer if WUFA Executive or some members thereof are not present at the meeting. Malone/Meyer Carried

Discussion of Alternative Approaches: At this point B. Miller joined the meeting to provide information to help us chart the direction for WURA. He briefly outlined some aspects of past negotiations and pointed out that there is some precedent for retirees receiving additional money. We have to be at the table to protect our interests and must have a structure to insure this. Some fraction of the budget must be there for retirees and be used as WURA decides as the best value for the money involved. Retirees' issues must not be treated as give-aways. We must bring to the table evidence of the value of retirees to the University. Does the University have a responsibility to retirees is the basic question and if it does work must be done to meet these. Along the same line what are the legal responsibilities of WUFA to WURA? When these questions are answered then a vehicle to deal with retirees' issues can be established. WURA needs a formal report on the status of the pension plan but first we must identify what figures we require in order to have a report that will meet our needs. The University oversees the pension fund but has this fund been mismanaged by the contracted managers? B. Miller was thanked for his helpful suggestions.

Report on WUFA Retirement and Benefits Committee: J. Meyer presented a report from the Committee's meeting of May 2. The R & B Committee is to present items to the Contract Committee and at that meeting J. Meyer said that he and G. Olafson would be presenting some things on behalf of WURA. He asked for suggestions from the members. A. Metcalfe will send a letter of thanks to D. Noble for her work on the retirees' dinner, the retirement planning seminar and her recently completed survey. J. Meyer reiterated the importance of having WUFA to request officially a report on pension performance similar to that recently done for Laurier University, and to have a cost analysis for pension increments done.

Other Business: G. McPhail will be contacted and asked if he would be willing to serve as WURA representative at Council and Executive meetings when J. Meyer is away.

Next Meeting: Tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 28.

The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.