The Flin Flon School Division is offering a retirement incentive to its most experienced educational assistants, clerical workers and custodians.
Trustees recently approved a $3,000 retirement bonus for non-teaching staff who belong to the USW Local 7975 union.
To be eligible, an employee’s combined age and years of service must equal at least 80 years. He or she must be at least 55 years old and have at least 10 consecutive years of employment with the division.
Employees must give notice of their retirement by March 30 of a given year. The actual date of their retirement can be open to discussion.
The school board has for years offered retirement incentives to teachers. That bonus now stands at $15,000 for full-time teachers who are at least 55 years old and have at least 25 years of service.
Teachers are required to declare their retirement by Jan. 30 of a given year. This year, two teachers claimed the bonus.
As of late last week, no member of USW 7975 had claimed the new non-teacher incentive. They had until today to do so.
Clarified
Trustees revised the USW 7975 incentive last week, clarifying that casual staff are ineligible.
In a previous interview with The Reminder, Superintendent of Schools Blaine Veitch said the teacher retirement bonus is designed to save money, rejuvenate teaching ranks and help find qualified personnel.
A first-year teacher earns considerably less than one at the peak of the pay scale.
Also, when teachers give early notice of their retirement, the division has more time to recruit high-level candidates before other school boards snap them up.
