Tory staffers to gain financially under changes approved by Harper gov't

But they'll have a little more money to play with since the government has decreed that ministers' offices should no longer have to foot the bill for international travel by ministers, their staff and parliamentary secretaries. Those costs will now be absorbed by government departments instead.
...
However, The Canadian Press has obtained a fact sheet distributed on Jan. 27 by Treasury Board ? "for the use of ministers and deputy heads" ? which helpfully spells out the "key changes."

The fact sheet specifies that maximum salaries for political staff have been changed to reflect equivalent employment levels in the public service and will "automatically increase in concert with those of the public service."

That means a chief of staff to a senior minister is now classified as anywhere from an EX-02 (maximum salary of $131,000) to an EX-04 (maximum $168,000). A director is classified as EX-02, a press secretary or policy adviser as AS-08 ($102,000), a senior special assistant as AS-07 ($96,000) and support staff as up to AS-05 ($78,000).

The fact sheet also indicates that staff in the offices of junior ministers of state will be treated more like those of senior ministers. For instance, the salary for a junior minister's chief of staff will increase to the EX-02 level and for support staff to the AS-05 level.

Since political staffers' salaries are to be tied to those of public servants, all those at the various AS-levels are in line for a wage increase of 1.75 per cent this year, 1.5 per cent in 2012 and two per cent in 2013 ? in accordance with a new collective agreement for the civil service.

Any annual increase for those at the EX-levels will be dependent on the recommendation of an independent advisory committee, according to Treasury Board spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold.

The fact sheet also spells out that ministers now have discretion to authorize up to six months' separation pay for staff with four or more years of service in a ministerial office. Separation pay remains at a maximum of four months for those with less than four years' service.

The policy document says separation pay "is intended to compensate for possible loss of earnings resulting from an often unpredictable and, at times, abrupt termination of employment."

It also explains that separation pay is on top of the automatic 30 days of pay, to which all political staffers are entitled upon losing their jobs. All of that is in addition to severance of two weeks pay for every year of service.

Adding it all up, Tory aides who have worked in ministerial offices throughout Harper's five years in government would be entitled to as much as 9.5 months of pay should they find themselves without jobs after May 2.

"stokes" said
Not happy about this either Curt, but what are the alternatives?? All parties are suckin ass right now!!