A motion to remove Executive Director course reimbursements failed to pass at MUNSU’s latest board meeting.
MUNSU executives are reimbursed for the cost of one course every semester, with the student union spending between $7,020 and $35,100 annually, depending on domestic or international tuition rates.
At MUNSU’s meeting on March 4th, Nathan Gillingham, Executive Director of External Affairs, brought forward the motion to eliminate this policy.
According to Gillingham’s motion, MUNSU’s latest audit indicates a deficit of over $200,000, and the union is in need to find savings.
He says MUNSU’s mandate is to “serve the students,” and that removing the course reimbursements would “restore a lot of trust” to MUNSU.
Gillingham and the Executive Director of Finance, Farhan Probandho, along with nine other board members, supported removing this reimbursement.
The vote ultimately failed, requiring at least 12 votes, as bylaw amendments require 2/3s approval.
Six members voted against, whilst one member abstained—leaving removal one vote short at 11/18.
For reference, there are five Executive Director positions: Advocacy, Campaigns, External Affairs, Student Life, and Finance.
Every spring, students campaign and are voted into these roles in an annual election.
Each Executive role is a full-time job at 35 hours a week, and this year’s executives will earn $22.99 per hour, placing their annual salary at around $35,000.
The positions are exclusively for students, meaning that they must be enrolled in at least one class during the Fall and Winter semesters.
Director of Campaigns, Rana Abuidris, said that “By executives having a requirement [to be enrolled], then not compensating for it makes the job inherently inaccessible … and as a union, we’ve advocated for paid work terms … because students should not perform required work without compensation.”
Some board members, including Mabrur Islam, Director of Advocacy, said that course reimbursement is not a privilege, but compensation.
However, other board members, such as Juairya Abdullah, raised the point that executives need to be “students to get the job…they are not being forced to be a student.”
Other compensation exists within the union, but costs proportionally less and is consistent year to year, such as the “mobile allowance” of $50 per month to cover phone expenses—a total of $3,000 a year for all five executives.
At Memorial, this year’s incoming international students pay $2,250 per course, while domestic students pay $675 per course.
Most international students are required to be enrolled in at least three courses per semester, as international student visas require full-time enrolment.
Executives are also not allowed to take more than three courses per semester. Meaning international executives pay at least $13,500 per year for courses, not counting student fees or other expenses.
According to Blake Colbran, Director of Student Life, “The question is not whether to cut, but where to cut, and I think there are better avenues for us to take than to disadvantage international executives.”
Addressing the cuts, Gillingham says, “Making cuts isn’t easy … everywhere MUNSU puts money can be justified with a very sound argument … all of it has a purpose … it is simply about our means.”
To Director of Finance Farhan Probandho, “If MUNSU doesn’t correct in three or four years, we will be in dire straits.”
“The only way to do that is to evaluate our costs and the services we offer … and those conversations cannot happen if we do not take accountability, and if we don’t take action at the executive level first,” said Probandho.
