The proposed "philosophy of remuneration" brought by the Remuneration Commission sought to outline the biblical principles and Ellen White comments regarding employee pay, as well as making specific recommendations on how such a philosophy should be implemented.
Commission chair and GC vicepresident Gerry Karst (pictured below) introduced the agenda item, saying that the Church has had a long standing salary scale system but that in recent years many deviations have been adopted. As a consequence, he said, "the single wage factor we thought we had does not exist."
Questions raised on the Commission included: What is equal sacrifice? What is a living wage? How to define such terms as ample, fair and just? How does this impact the unity of the church? How is transparency achieved?
In opening the debate to the floor, GC president Jan Paulsen said that the document shifted the responsibility of developing the wage scale from the GC to the divisions, and that the proposal provided a philosophy for the guiding principles of remuneration.
GC Executive lay member Mack Tennyson, appreciating the value of the proposed policy, asked whether the proposal was to incorporate all remuneration or not. The question of other allowances was responded to by GC undertreasurer Robert Lemon who pointed out that in areas with extremely low wages the cost of housing could be five times a monthly salary, and so could not be included in such computations.
GC vice-president Lowell Cooper appealed for more time to consider the document's impact, asking the Executive to Aconsider putting the proposal on hold for comments, to see how it would "fit".
LLUMC president Lyn Behrens said she was struck by the principles and fairness of the document, and how it reflected the diversity of the Church. But, she commented, there was "a multitude of application procedures" to be examined, and a need to examine "how to make adjustments, how to keep institutions attached" to the Church. She also suggested a period to see "how this might be fitted and refined."
Former GC president Neal C. Wilson agreed that remuneration was "a very complex matter, and we will never have a policy that is absolutely perfect, that answers every question." But, he observed, "this is the best I've seen" and urged its support, commenting on the fact that at that stage few had spoke on the draft proposal. In a humorous aside, GC president Jan Paulsen asked that he not encourage the participants too strongly.
Mario Brito, union president from Portugal, identified the proposal as "very fair and balanced," and accepted the difficulty of addressing all situations in one document. However, he pointed out the situation in his union where due to legal obligations, Adventist teachers are paid at twice the rate of pastors.
Richard Osborn, Pacific Union College president, and Ben Maxson, GC stewardship director, both pointed out that the proposal, by providing more flexibility instead of one "package," presented a marked philosophical change for the Church. GC vice-president Ted N.C. Wilson commented that the Commission had stressed equality and the collegial aspects of the work, and the importance of avoiding setting up an aristocracy. Percentage figures that would fix the maximum for administrators relative to pastoral salaries also provided much scope for discussion.
The final vote (92 to 84) indicated a split in approaches, with the majority opting to accept the proposal in principle, but to take it to Annual Council for final approval, and to invite comment and implementation aspects in the meantime.
Paulsen Re-emphasizes "Three Strategic Values"
Speaking at the opening of the Executive Committee's spring meeting, GC president Jan Paulsen said he could not "let go the opportunity to return to these three strategic values." (To read highlights of Paulsen's Remarks, click here).
The three--growth, unity, and quality of life--were first identified at the 2000 Session in Toronto, and have been much repeated since. They were, according to Paulsen, the result of "a deliberate and considered choice," for they sum up "the ethos and self-awareness of the Adventist Church. We cannot adequately identify what and why we are without speaking about these strategic values."
Growth, he said, encompassed evangelistic witness and personal development, a maturing of life discipleship. Unity revealed that Adventists are one family around the world, bonded by the Holy Spirit, communicating with and deferring to one another as one body of Christ. "One we are and that we shall protect," he affirmed. "Quality of life contains and expresses the heart of Adventism, visible in what we say is important and in what we believe. It is the whole range of life decisions that the public may observe, and what is critical for our inward lives."
For this reason, Paulsen concluded, the Church needed to be very deliberate in incorporating these three strategic values into the planning process, for they are not slogans frivolously or hastily chosen but are "the heart of the matter for us as a people bonding together on our pilgrimage."
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Jonathan Gallagher is the UN Liaison director of the General Conference.
fter a morning dedicated to discussing the report on employee pay scales, the GC executive committee voted today (April 17) to accept the proposal "in principle" but bring the measure back for final approval at Annual Council in September.
The differences caused problems when individuals moved, and there is a "need for transfer between one branch of the work to another without aspects of financial gain or loss." Karst also remarked that remuneration is a complex topic and the commission had debated the merits of fixing or repairing the current structure or developing a completely new system.
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