Uproar over Vice Chancellor’s bloated £442K pay package

While thousands starve

Andrew Hamilton protest salary vice-chancellor

Students are outraged that Andrew Hamilton will have earned more in 12 days than some staff will earn in a whole year.

A protest is scheduled for Tuesday, where students will demand that the University pay all staff the living wage and reduce the pay ratio to 5:1.

As of August 2014, the Vice-Chancellor was paid £442,000 a year – even higher than previously thought.

This makes him one of the highest paid VCs in Britain. Meanwhile the lowest paid full time staff at Oxford earn just £14,959.

Looking out over his kingdom

According to Oxford Defend Education, the angry activists organising the protest, “As Andy’s wages continued to increase during the recession, other staff at the university suffered a 13.5 per cent real-terms pay cut.”

The event says that “the President of Kentucky State University gave up £57,500 of his salary to increase the wages of his university’s lowest paid staff”.

They demand that Hamilton commits to reducing his salary by the same amount.

Justifiably angry

The astronomical pay package – which includes a £339,000 salary, benefits and pension – has been criticised before.

Margaret Hodge, Labour MP, speaking to The Sun said: “It’s simply ridiculous. Running a university is nowhere near as complex as running a hospital.

“They claim they are private institutions but most of their money comes from the public purse, be that student funds or grants. There need to be proper controls. The pay needs to come down.”

Students are also outraged at the inequality. “It’s a bloody travesty,” said Mark Burry, an enraged second year historian.

And an Arch and Anth fresher said: “I simply cannot believe that money I could spend better on sex, weed and alcohol is being so shamefully squandered in this manner.”

His suit is probably lined with cash

Oxford has defended the figures. A University spokesperson said: “Oxford is one of the great universities of the world, making a major contribution to the economic prosperity of the UK as well as to tackling global challenges through its research.

“Its research output is vast, it has an almost billion-pound-a-year turnover not including the colleges and OUP, and it has great institutional complexity.  The University must remain globally competitive and its Vice-Chancellor’s remuneration needs to reflect that.”

Some colleges have agreed to pay all staff the basic living wage of £7.85 an hour after pressure from JCRs.

OUSU is campaigning to make the change across the university, and it seems that the University has taken note.

“For many years, Oxford has ensured that everyone employed by the central University is paid the Living Wage,” the spokesperson said.

“The University has been considering further steps on the issue of the Living Wage and hopes to make an announcement in the next few weeks.”

The campaign is part of a national movement to curb uni bosses’ big bucks, with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts calling for action across the country.