Unions slam to cut staff pensions
Union officials have hit out at “spiralling”pay for university principals while proposals to cut staff pensions are under consideration .
Professor Gerry McCormac, University of Stirling principal, is currently earning a salary of more than £270,000 – an increase of more than £20,000 from his 2013-14 salary.
The Observer reported that his salary last year was comfortably in excess of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (£144,687) and Prime Minister Teresa May (£150,402).
And in the last 10 years the annual pay for the post of principal at the university has increased by 36 per cent – from £202,000 to £276,000.
Mary Senior, UCU Scotland official, says increases to principals’salaries across Scotland is highlighting a“crisis of leadership”in Scottish higher education.
She said:“University staff feel let down by a system which allows the pay of principals to spiral, while the wages of staff are held down.
“They will be amazed to see principals getting pay increases well over three times more than they received over the past 10 years. That the principals are now proposing to cut staff pensions will only exacerbate how they feel.
“There is a crisis of leadership in Scottish higher education. We’ve moved from a collegiate and collaborative delivery of higher education, to a marketised system.
“University leaders who should be part of the academic community in their universities, seem instead to want to behave like big business chief executives.”
A spokesperson for the University of Stirling said :“The principal’s salary is set by the University’s Remuneration Committee, at a level that is appropriate to the size and scale of the job.
“The principal only accepts the nationally agreed pay increase awarded to all staff. He has in the past donated awards in excess of this to a Vice-Chancellor’s Fund, to support a range of University of Stirling student and staff projects, to directly enhance the student experience.”
Earlier this month Professor McCormac was being called on to put pressure on employers UUK get round the negotiating table with UCU to discuss the pensions issue.