Education Minister calls for ‘restraint’
Officials deciding pay rises for university and colleges principals were this week urged to exercise“restraint”.
The plea came from Scottish Government Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead who said future salary hikes should be in line with increases given to staff.
His plea came after it emerged that college chiefs across Scotland had enjoyed wage rises way above increases awarded to other staff.
Over the last decade, the pay rises of university principals has gone up by as much as 76 per cent compared with an increase for lecturers of around 18 per cent since 2007.
Both Stirling University principal and vice-chancellor Gerry McCormac and Forth Valley College principal Ken Thomson have been criticised by trades unions over their pay.
Professor McCormac’s pay is approaching £290,000 a year while Mr Thomson’s pay and pension package last year was between £175,000 and £180,000. Mr Lochhead raised the issue of principals’ pay in a letter to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) which oversees public spending on behalf of college s and universities.
Quoted in a national newspaper, Mr Lochhead said: “The SFC should encourage senior figures within the college and university sectors to demonstrate restraint in their own pay settlements and senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university and college staff.
“As set out in your financial memoranda, while public sector pay policy does not apply directly to colleges and universities, they must have regard to it.
“Therefore, the SFC should be assured that institutions are setting pay arrangements for senior staff that ensure value for money, affordability and sustainability in the longer term.”
A spokesman for the UCU, Scotland lecturers’ union, said executive salaries should be pegged to those of staff.
He said Mr Lochhead’s intervention was welcome, adding: “For too long we’ve seen university principals enjoying inflationbusting rises while keeping down staff pay.
“Linking the pay of those at the very top with everyone else working in our universities makes sense. Staff have seen their pay fall by 21 per cent in real terms over the past decade and as UCU prepares to ballot members for industrial action over pay and pensions principals need to take heed of this guidance.”
A university spokesperson 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. He received the nationally agreed pay increase of two per cent, which was awarded to all staff in 2018-19 and 1.7 per cent in 2017-18.
“He donates annually to a ViceChancellor’s Fund, to support a range of University of Stirling student and staff projects, to directly enhance the student experience.”
A Forth Valley College spokesperson added: “We adhere to all ministerial guidance in relation to pay and recognise that the role of principal and chief executive of a large and successful multi-million pound organisation with a high regional and national profile, comes with significant responsibility.
“When determining any salary within the organisation, the complexity and demand of the role is taken into account.
“The principal’s and senior management team’s salaries are aligned to scale points working in a grading framework and like all staff, adhere to public sector pay policy. Any upward movement on the scale requires approval by the remuneration committee of the Forth Valley Board of Management.”