Post-secondary pay faces overhaul
Lukaszuk vows action after SAIT furor
CALGARY — Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk is promising to overhaul compensation for post-secondary administrators in Alberta as opposition parties slammed what they say is a golden handshake for retired SAIT president Irene Lewis.
Lewis retired last month, but will continue to collect her salary — up to $340,000 — over the next year. Last fall, she was given a contract extension to cover the period until her successor, David Ross, was able to replace her. That extension retained a clause from the old contract granting a year’s salary upon her departure, a provision that has been heavily criticized by the SAIT faculty association and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.
Lukaszuk, who is also deputy premier, said Monday he was disappointed to see the payout, given the government’s call for restraint in the post-secondary sector.
“I have been looking very closely at remuneration in the post-secondary sector and I think it’s time we have a serious conversation about this,” he said.
“It’s unfair to pick on one particular contract, but I have made very clear that I will be opening up the legislation for post-secondary education this fall and the manner in which we set salaries and remunerate individuals in that sector needs to be one of the things that we review for certain.”