UK universities have been “systematically underpaying” staff for “many years” as the sector had struggled to stay solvent with an ever-swelling student body paying fixed fees, according to two leading vice-chancellors.
Michael Spence, president of University College London, told Times Higher Education’s THE Campus Live event that staff had suffered as a result of the UK’s massification. “We’ve balanced the books by hugely increasing numbers of international students, by in many institutions not investing in adequate repairs and maintenance, and as a system, systematically underpaying our staff,” he said.
Dr Spence, who was until 2020 was vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, said UK pay stood in stark contrast to Australia – a major problem in globally competitive recruitment. “The person in my office who greeted people, opened the mail and made cups of coffee earned more than some senior academics at UCL,” he said.
