NIU clerical staff to receive additional pay hike

More than 500 NIU employees will be seeing something extra in their next paychecks: an additional 3 percent raise, added to the 3 percent increase they’ve already received this fiscal year. The mid-year increase will be made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2004.

NIU officials say the mid-year increase, which was based on President John Peters' recomendation and approved by the Board of Trustees last year, is in response to a continuing clerical salary competitiveness priority emphasized by NIU’s Operating Staff Council (OSC).

“Our clerical staff are the very backbone of all our administrative and support operations,” Peters said, “and we’ve worked hard to address their salary needs. I’m very pleased with this latest effort, as it is consistent with my recommendation to the Board of Trustees outlining a 3-percent-plus salary program for those employee categories in the most need of competitive adjustment.”

According to Steve Cunningham, associate vice president for enterprise planning and human resources, there is a continuing need to address clerical staff salary issues.

“We’re grateful to the (operating staff) council for their partnership in this ongoing effort,” Cunningham said. “Their input has been critical in addressing this issue over the past five to six years, and it’s allowed us to make real progress in the area of salary competitiveness.”

Since FY1999, NIU clerical staff have received market increments totaling just over 32 percent. Beginning with a major initiative in FY99 that brought a 10.2 percent increase, clerical salaries at NIU increased at a steady, 5- or 6-percent rate each year. (The exception came in FY03, when the state budget crisis forced a university-wide salary freeze.) This year’s 6 percent increase came in three steps: 1.5 percent in July, 1.5 percent in January, and now the additional 3 percent.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to build on our past work and continue this program in spite of the tight budget constraints the university is facing,” said OSC President Sara Clayton. “This is a long-time priority for the council, and I know that past presidents such as Andy Small and Judy Burgess were also quite instrumental in keeping it at the forefront of OSC’s work. It’s an equitable increase, and more important, it’s part of an increment program that’s been moving along for several years.”

A complete list of job classifications eligible for the supplemental 3 percent increase is available from Human Resource Services; currently 528 employees in positions classified as clerical qualify for the mid-year raise.

1-16-04