The chiefs of Britain's Universities have been blasted as 'Fat Cats' by lecturers unions for taking average pay rises of 9.3%. The total pay rise of £20m at 164 institutions could have paid for over 1000 lecturers according to the AUT. An article by the Times Higher Education Supplement made from studying the annual reports across the UK found that while academic staff have mostly settled for 3%, one (now retired) VC- Sir John Daniel of the Open University- took home £309,000, a rise of 102%.
Deputy editor of the THES Martin Ince said:
"With resources across higher education under extreme pressure, it is difficult not to sympathize with poorly-funded teaching staff and cash-strapped students weighed down by loans, who will naturally be asking how these huge leaps in vice-chancellors' pay can be justified. Students are coming out of university with five figure debts, while the people that run the institutions are presumably accumulating rather good salaries."
Many of the VCs receiving the highest pay rise were 'taking the money and running', as they are have since retired. Besides Daniel, Third placed Sir John Kingman vice-chancellor of the University of Bristol got a rise by 98% to £252,000 and has since gone, as has Fifth-placed Frank Gould of University of East London who left with a salary of £189,000- a 60% rise.
Mr Ince continued;
"If people do this in their last year - and their pensions are based on their final year's earnings - they're putting a huge charge on the rest of the system for the rest of their lives. It's money that could go to other retired academics."
George Reeves the President of the Association of University Teachers in Newcastle, whose VC received a 33% pay rise said
"I am very surprised at this increase and in the current university restructuring process it is an incredibly large sum, particularly when the AUT has been for the last five or six years seeking academic related staff because we reckon we are 35 to 37pc behind the levels of the late 1970s. This amount of money could keep the system going."
Sally Hunt, assistant general secretary of the AUT, said;
"Yet again we have seen the fat cat mentality of university vice-chancellors triumph over prudent and efficient management. It will be difficult for vice-chancellors to sustain the argument that lecturers and other university staff cannot have a decent pay increase this year when they have presided over such a large boost for themselves. The total pay increases for vice-chancellors this year is the equivalent of nearly 1,000 new lecturers. During a period of under-funding and cutbacks, staff and students will be left bewildered by the insensitivity of vice-chancellors in this latest pay award."
Not surprisingly, Baroness Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, the umbrella group of University Vice-Chancellors and Principals could see nothing wrong whatsoever. She said;
"Vice-chancellors' pay is a matter for individual universities. But, clearly, universities will wish the salaries of their vice-chancellors to reflect the fact that they are successfully running multi-million pound businesses."
Related Stories;
BBC, University chiefs get 9.3% pay rise
IC North Wales, Anger at 100% pay rise for university 'fat cats'
The Courier DUNDEE UNIVERSITY defends £160,000 principals salary
IC Newcastle, union blast vc's pay rise
