Lecturers reacted angrily today to a refusal by Bournemouth University managers to release details of how a pay rise for the vice-chancellor was decided.
The UCU union asked universities across the country to disclose details of how VC pay was set by their remuneration committees, which set pay for senior managers. Both Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth refused to divulge the information.
It comes after BU VC John Vinney took an 18 percent pay rise earlier this year, taking his pay to £214,000. AUB VC Professor Stuart Bartholomew saw a 21 per cent increase to £205,000.
‘The public has a right to know how that money is being spent” – John Brissenden, UCU
BU UCU chair John Brissenden said BU managers were “out of touch”.
“Universities are funded by public money and the public has a right to know how that money is being spent and the decisions that underlie how it’s spent,” he said.
“They think not only is it acceptable that they can lavish double-digit percentage pay rises to vice-chancellors but that the details by which they arrive at these decisions they can keep secret.”
The union claimed that four-fifths of universities across the UK refused to release information into how senior pay was set by remuneration committees.
Bournemouth University has so far not issued a response to the union’s claim.
The UCU is currently in dispute with university managers across the country following a 1 per cent pay offer last year. It has threatened to boycott the marking of assessments if progress is not made by the end of this month.
