LECTURERS and student leaders are demanding a change in the law to curb “excessive” pay rises for university principals.

The call comes after figures for the past decade show substantial rises for the post of principal at many Scottish universities.

The increases - some of which amount to more than 50 per cent and go up to 76 per cent - compare to an increase for lecturing staff of 18 per cent since 2007.

In 2012, a review of higher education governance called for university remuneration committees that set the pay of principals to include members of staff and students to increase transparency.

However, subsequent legislation did not enforce this aspect of the review - although staff and students do now sit on ruling Courts of universities where decisions are ratified.

Lecturers and student leaders are also concerned that principals can sit on remuneration committees - although they are not allowed to be in attendance when their salaries are discussed.

Many universities have also come under fire for failing to publish the minutes of meetings to discuss principals pay.

Mary Senior, Scotland official of the UCU lecturers’ union, said the 2016 Higher Education Governance Act was beginning to take effect - but needed to go further.

She said: “Trade union nominees are taking up positions on some university governing bodies, but it is clear with principals’ pay spiralling ever upwards that we still need to do more.

“It’s time for a serious discussion on pay at the top and to fully implement the recommendations from the earlier governance review.

“That report called for staff and students on the remuneration committees that set pay, and for a transparent pay scale for senior staff.

“This would move us away from the arbitrary nature of pay hikes, and could address the pay and perks scandal.”

Jodie Waite, president of student body NUS Scotland, said that while the law had tightened up on governance, decisions around pay continued to be taken “behind closed doors”.

She said: “Some institutions even allow principals to attend committees which set their pay, but deny staff and student representatives a seat at this table.

“If our universities truly value transparency and accountability, they need to give students and staff places on the committees where pay is decided, to ensure that the student and staff voice is heard at every level of decision making.”

However, a spokeswoman for Universities Scotland said the changes introduced as part of the governance legislation had not yet had a chance to take effect.

In addition, she said an updated voluntary code of conduct for universities was explicit about principals not attending remuneration committees when their salary was being discussed.

And the code also says it should be a duty of officials to seek the views of staff and students on the remuneration package of the principal - with staff and student attendance at meetings an “option”.

The spokeswoman said: “Recent changes to university governance give staff and students a role and a voice in the decision-making of remuneration committees in a way that hasn’t always been possible.

“We welcome their involvement and expect them to take this opportunity where they have a strong view.

“These changes are bedding in and universities are individually working through with staff and student representatives how best to include them in remuneration decisions.”

The new code also says that university remuneration committees should take account of senior pay in the public sector when they set the salary levels of principals.

Previously it has been the case that universities benchmark the salary of the principal again those of senior position in the private sector.

The salaries of principals are often compared to those of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who earns £150,000.

However, universities argue they are competing with the business sector for talent where salaries of chief executives run to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Principals’ salaries 2007-2017

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