University boss gets pay rise while staff jobs are cut

Vice chancellor Edmund Burke received a pay rise of more than £30,000 in 2023-24

A university's decision to give its vice chancellor a 13% pay rise before cutting dozens of jobs has been criticised by a trade union.

Bangor University's annual report for 2023/24 showed vice chancellor Edmund Burke received a pay rise of more than £30,000.

Dyfrig Jones, the UCU union's vice president and a senior lecturer at the university said the increase was "shocking and disappointing".

Bangor University said "the current salary… reflects not only the full responsibilities of the role but also market benchmarking against peers leading similarly complex institutions".

The annual report showed Mr Burke received a salary of £273,000 compared to the previous year where he was paid £222,000 for 11 months' work.

Mr Jones said: "It hurts and it feels like another blow to our staff who have already been through such a difficult period."

The union representative said he would "welcome" the vice-Chancellor volunteering to repay some of his salary.

"If he were to have rejected the pay rise, that could have saved one or two jobs," said Mr Jones.

Marian Wyn Jones, chairwoman of the university's council, warned in its annual report there are "financial challenges facing the university and the sector" and said they "face unprecedented challenges due to historically static tuition fees for home undergraduate students which are set by the government, persistent inflationary pressures, and policy changes on international student visas".

In February, the university said it needed to cut 200 jobs to make financial savings.

Last month, Professor Burke sent an email to staff saying the university had made "good progress" in making savings through "strict controls" and "voluntary severance and retirements".

The number of jobs to be cut had therefore been revised down to 78.

The university previously said it planned to cut about 200 jobs to make savings of £15m

The UCU union was unhappy that, during financial difficulties, some senior staff were rewarded financially, with the annual report document demonstrating the number of employees growing from 18 to 26 in a year.

"We are talking about substantial sums of money, which are enough to keep a great many of those who are facing losing their jobs in employment," said Mr Jones.

He said the union wanted to see fewer jobs with "very high salaries" to "protect jobs which command a lower salary, but which, in my opinion, are far more important for the university".

Bangor University said in a statement: "The increase reflects a combination of factors, including the appointment or promotion to leadership roles where salaries are benchmarked against national and standards.

"Our core mission continues, which is to provide a high standard of education and deliver research of the highest quality.

"We are committed to transparency and accountability across all our work, including salaries, the salary of the vice chancellor and Executive Board which is paid by the Remuneration Committee.

"Our leadership team concentrates on using resources responsibly to support our mission and future stability."

A spokesperson also said the vice chancellor had not received a pay rise in the current year.