Rockway is a Living Wage Employer!
Board Chairperson, John Torrance-Perks signing the Living Wage agreement at Rockway’s Annual General Meeting 2017.
For most of us, when we think about Rockway, we think about the people. Whether you are connected to Rockway as a student, alumnus, a donor, or a parent, you have likely made meaningful connections with people here and that is what stands out in your mind.
It is often said that employees are the most valuable asset of an organization. While this may sound cliché, there is deep truth to this statement. Rockway is what it is because of the people who work here.
The Rockway administration and Board of Directors is continually assessing how we value and show appreciation for the contributions of the many people who work here. Last year this included an evaluation of salary grids for all of our non-teaching staff. The goal of this process was to ensure that our employees are compensated fairly for the contributions they make to our community.
As part of this process, the Rockway Board of Directors made a decision to become a Living Wage employer. According to Living Wage Waterloo Region, a living wage is “the hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their family’s basic expenses within their community.”
We believe that paying employees a living wage shows the value of their work and enables them to care for themselves and their families. Simply said, it is the right thing to do.
Further, we believe, and evidence shows, that paying a living wage provides many benefits for organizations, employees, and the broader community. These benefits include increased morale and productivity, reduced employee turnover, better quality of life and increased community involvement.
Being a Living Wage employer is a concrete way that Rockway can model what it means to be a responsible, reflective, and compassionate participant in our community. We are the 44th employer in this Region to make this commitment, which was formalized at Rockway’s Annual General Meeting held in November 2017.
Karen Martin Schiedel, Director of Finance & Human Resources
