Edinburgh’s Sir Peter Mathieson receives £43,000 pay rise

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Sir Peter Mathieson, has received a pay rise of £43,000.

Sir Mathieson, who has been in post since 2018, now earns an annual salary of £406,000.

A report by the Scotsman newspaper found that 15 vice-chancellors across Scotland received combined pay rises of £300,000 in 2022.

Other changes include the head of Aberdeen University earning an extra £28,000, taking his salary to £291,000. A £44,000 rise, the largest in Scotland, was received by Dame Sally Mapstone at St Andrews University. However, she donated her 2021/22 pay rise to the St Andrews Student Hardship Fund.

The University and College Union’s Scotland official, Mary Senior, called the pay rises a “kick in the teeth”.

“It is absolutely astonishing that at a time when university workers’ pay has decreased by a quarter in real terms since 2009, university principals are lining their pockets with eye-watering pay hikes.

“UCU members working in universities across Scotland currently face the prospect of having their pay docked by up to 100% because they are participating in legitimate action short of strike in pursuit of a decent pay rise and fair working conditions”, she continued.

Vice-Chancellors are not responsible for setting their own salaries.

The rates are set by renumeration committes, who are asked to take into account the “views of representatives of students and staff of the institution, including through representatives sitting on the committee itself”.

Last year, it was reported that on top of his salary, Sir Mathieson has nearly £18,000 of annual house maintenance bills for his Edinburgh townhouse paid for by the university. The university says this is because the residence is used for official university purposes.

The University of Edinburgh has been approached for comment. 

Featured image via YouTube.

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