Hi Bryan, I heard that you mentioned to a member that the TWG2 is planning to recommend that the two months bonus dues be folded into the 12 monthly dues. If this is so, and it may just a rumor, you should be aware of the following:
This has been discussed for many years and nothing has come of it as the current bonus dues which are billed twice a year is an “assessment” which was passed as fiat by the BOG many years ago to get around the requirement that dues can only be raised by a vote of the members. Thus you must have members vote on any dues change. The “assessment” of 2 months dues (euphemistically called bonus dues) was just a sneaky way of getting around the vote and effectively raising the dues. As you know the Full Time staff get 5.5 months salary each year, making their pay 17.5 months. Regards greg
The apathy is frightening!
From the BOG Meeting 5 July:
Resolved #3668 ..I move that the Board create a Board-level Special Compensation Committee with the following structure and responsibilities.
The Compensation Committee shall consist of five voting members, all of whom will be members of the Board of Governors. The President will select the Chair who will then select the other four Board members, all five appointees subject to the approval of the Board.
Later in #3670 it goes on…
The next discussion concerned overlapping responsibilities of the new committee, the HR committee and TWG2 concerning compensation. The discussion did not result in resolution, but it was suggested the chairs get together and resolve any relevant issues. A related discussion involved the need for the new committee to work with TWG2 in a timely manner in recognition of the urgency of the TWG’s commission. This discussion resulted in the following motion.
Resolved #3671: The Board instruct the Compensation Committee to cooperate with maximum extent possible with TWG2.
So we have the Board appointing a committee made up entirely of Board members and then instructing itself to cooperate with itself.
I see that we are making solid progress, at least on increasing the number of committees.
Nero on the balcony springs to mind.
Hi Editor
would it be possible to drop me a quick mail?
cheers
J
Geoff, On rethinking (and correcting my thinking) on the nefarious Bonus Dues, it does indeed open up a Pandora’s Box. TAC’s Articles and General Rules are clear that any change in dues must be voted on by members (as was the case with the 7 June SGM). If the Bonus Dues were in fact not voted on at a General Meeting as required, this is in contavention of the Articles. However, if they were voted on by members and approved, an assessment is not permanent and is a time limited levy. Either way the Bonus Dues must go. The current family monthly dues at Y26000 ($300) make TAC’s dues the highest in Asia for comparable facilities such as the American Clubs in HK, Taiwan, Beijing and Singapore. Now, at my request the GM, Mike Bumgartner, is researching the issue and has been requested requested to produce the relevant documentation. I will definitely keep you updated on this important issue. Let’s put an end to the unbridled transfer of wealth from members to the elite staff and give the member a break with fairness and opportunity to the front line staff. Greg
Greg
Bonus Dues = Pandora’s Box.
You raise a very interesting set of questions.
Under Article 47 it states clearly that..
…Provisions in said General Rules which fix the amounts of dues and assessments of Members may be changed ONLY by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Regular Members voting at a GENERAL MEETING called for the purpose…
It was likely this assessment was fixed during the reign of the late HIH Robert Collins in about 1985. Members may recall he penned the now quite prophetic ‘Murder at the Tokyo American Club’.
TAC management should be asked to provide confirmation that this assessment was duly confirmed at a General Meeting called for that specific purpose.
As you point out, this came at a time when haizen staff were on the ascendency and BOG/Management were clueless and rudderless in trying to deal with Japanese labor.
Surely now that the haizen staff issue is behind the Club, this assessment should be reviewed (assuming of course it was correctly and legally constituted in the first instance).
The word bonus in the current environment is somewhat of an anathema IMHO.