Welsh Universities must not penalise low paid workers when looking to make budget cuts of £30m in the next academic year, Plaid AMs Leanne Wood and Chris Franks have demanded.
Plaid Cymru obtained figures under the Freedom of Information Act which revealed that Cardiff University’s bill for consultants alone topped £3m in just three years. And the university also spent £1.5m on agency workers.
Information supplied by the university showed that out of its workforce of 6,222 (full-time equivalent of 5,563) a total of 882 staff earn more than £50,000 a year – or £961 A WEEK.
Last week it was revealed that Cardiff University’s Vice Chancellor Dr David Grant earned £275,000 in 2008-09 – a four per cent rise on the previous year while Glamorgan University’s Vice Chancellor Professor David Halton picked up £222,000 – 14 per cent up on 2007-08.
Leanne Wood said: “The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) has announced a reduction in grants from £433.8m in 2009-10 to £403m in the next academic year.
“These are challenging times not just for universities but for the public sector as a whole and they are set to get a lot tougher after the UK general election.
“Cardiff University has said it is disappointed with the funding settlement. However, the last thing the Welsh economy needs now is more job losses, so I would argue that reductions in budget must not impact on low paid staff and I would oppose any move to make lecturers redundant. Fewer staff would inevitably lead to a reduction in quality and standards in our universities, and our economy cannot afford that either. It’s clear from these figures that considerable savings could be made without cutting staff.”
Cardiff-born Chris Franks, who also represents South Wales Central, said: “Times are difficult so Welsh universities, such as Cardiff, really need to examine whether spending more than £1m a year on expensive consultants is good value for money.
“The universities in Wales need to be more pro-active in attracting money from industries for research work. Other UK universities manage to develop contacts with former students who are now in senior positions. This can result in extra millions coming to the college.”
Leanne Wood and Chris Franks last year strongly opposed cuts in the university’s Lifelong Learning Centre.
