The University and College Union (UCU) has
today (Friday) called for proper scrutiny of senior pay in
universities in the form of a public register of
vice-chancellors’ pay and perks.
The union said university senior pay had long
been an embarrassment for the higher education sector,
particularly in recent years under austerity. UCU has raised the
issue with successive universities ministers only to be told that
the sector could regulate itself.
Last month current minister had strong words to
say on the matter, but conceded there was not a lot he could do
about it other than call for
restraint.
The union said a public register was required
to restore public confidence as top pay is funded by the taxpayer
and through students’ tuition fees. University heads received an
average salary package of £277,834 for the academic year 2015/16,
according to a UCU report released
earlier this year.
Most vice-chancellors’ pay is set by a
remuneration committee, which universities hide behind when
challenged over the pay of their vice-chancellor. However, UCU
has discovered that some vice-chancellors actually sit on these
committees. Just one in four institutions provided unredacted
minutes of its remuneration committees’ meetings when asked by
UCU through a Freedom of Information request.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘The
largesse of those at the top of our universities has long been a
source of embarrassment for the sector and UCU has raised the
issue many times with ministers. With the amount of debt students
are accruing to fund their education under the spotlight, the
time has come to expose the murky world of senior pay in
universities.
‘The huge disparities in the levels of pay and
pay rises expose the arbitrary nature of vice-chancellors’ pay.
It is simply wrong that some of them sit on the committee that
decides their pay and that universities can hide behind its
shadowy remuneration committee’s decisions without releasing
minutes from the meeting.
‘Years of politicians calling for restraint at
the top of universities has fallen on deaf ears and they have to
recognise the need for a proper public register of pay and perks
which can be scrutinised by the public, including the students
who are funding these pay hikes.’
