Accusations from some Saskatchewan Wheat Pool members who criticized directors for hiking their own salaries as the pool teetered on the edge of bankruptcy are unfair, said the company president.
Marvin Wiens said even though the salaries were increased, directors likely won’t take home more money.
Director base salaries will rise from $10,000 to a retainer of $30,000.
But the $250 directors earned for each day of service has been replaced with a $1,300 meeting fee.
“The only meetings that will qualify for a fee will be four quarterly meetings,” Wiens said.
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That fee stays the same whether a meeting lasts one day or five.
A director who used to spend 200 days a year on country work will not be paid for those days any more, he said, even though the districts are twice as large as they were four years ago and there is more work involved.
The average director salary will be around $40,000, close to what it was in the mid-1990s, before the company went public, Wiens said.
The compensation scheme had to be adjusted to bring it more in line with industry standards, he said.
Wiens said the pool’s compensation committee determined that all directors carry the same liability and responsibility and should all be compensated equitably.
The issue was raised last week when a document made available to delegates was leaked to media. Delegates received the information because director elections were under way.
Wiens’ salary is tied to that of the senior vice-president of the grain group. He took a rollback two years ago and makes $211,848, while the vice-president, Will Hill, earned nearly $400,000 last year.
In 2002, the total cost of the pool’s democratic structure was 49 percent less than it was in 1997, he said.
The board and delegates recently decided to have one full-time vice-president, rather than one full-time and one part-time. Compensation has not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, the four independent directors should be in place by March 20, at which time the board executive will be chosen.
