Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood has called for trade union representation on committees which set the pay of top university academics.
The Assembly Member for South Wales Central made the appeal after it was revealed that 237 Cardiff University staff earned more than £100,00 in 2011 – up by 14 on the previous year. And the number earning more than £150,000 jumped from eight to 13 in 2011.
Cardiff University’s remuneration committee, which sets the pay of senior staff, includes the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, chair of the university council and two lay members from the university council. The Vice Chancellor does not take part in discussions on their own packages.
Leanne Wood said: “Remuneration committees at many leading companies tend to be cosy clubs which agree big salary increases to top executives, far out of proportion to those earned by ordinary employees.
“Within the public sector, remuneration committees must have regard to the world we live in now. This could be achieved by ensuring that trade unions representing university staff have a seat on these committees.
“There is need for far greater scrutiny of salaries for the most highly paid. I’m sure people will be surprised that the number of staff earning high salaries is continuing to rise despite the tough financial circumstances. There is a lot of anger among many rank and file public sector workers about this. After all they are being squeezed on their pay and conditions.”
Cardiff University’s Vice Chancellor’s salary and pension package in 2011 rose to £285,000 – up £2,000 on the previous 12 months.
“When I questioned the First Minister about the levels of top pay in the public sector, he made it clear that those people need to set an example and that is something universities need to bear in mind,” added Leanne Wood.
Lleu Williams of UCU (University and College Union) Wales said: “Whilst lecturers are facing real terms pay cuts, increases in their pension contributions and the ongoing threat of redundancies, these kinds of pay increases at the top of universities show that we are not all in this together.
“People at the top shouldn’t be immune from the cuts in living standards many lecturers are facing, and until there is proper scrutiny of lucrative pay rises and other perks, these kinds of stories will continue to embarrass the higher education sector.”
