£350k boss at cash-strapped Scots university claims he 'doesn't know salary'
A university boss who is paid £350,000 a year yesterday said he did not know his 'precise' salary - as he did not 'carry that figure around in my head'.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal of the University of Edinburgh, accepted he is 'very well-paid' but was unable to provide the exact sum.
He spoke as lecturers prepare to walk out in a dispute over the university's refusal to rule out 'unacceptable' compulsory redundancies as part of plans to save £140million.
The action will see members of the University and College Union (UCU) strike during an open day on June 20, followed by a further five-day walkout in September to coincide with the university's 'welcome week' for new students.
Union members are also set to take part in action short of a strike, including working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, and a 'possible marking and assessment boycott'.
The UCU announced the action following a ballot which saw a 60 per cent turnout, with 84 per cent backing strikes and 93 per cent voting in favour of action short of a strike.
The news came on the same day Sir Peter appeared before a Holyrood committee, where he defended his six-figure salary and acknowledged the university is not in deficit.
Sir Peter insisted that paying the senior management team at the university 'nothing' would 'make largely no difference to the size of the expenditure challenge we face'.
Pressed about the cuts the university is planning, including a £90million reduction in the wage bill, Sir Peter said: 'I'm confident the action we're taking now is in the best interests of the university and I am proud of the leadership my team and I are providing in delivering.'
He told Holyrood's education committee he does 'not know the precise numbers' of his salary, telling MSPs when challenged on this: 'I don't carry that figure around in my head.'
Sir Peter however accepted he is 'very well paid', with committee convener Douglas Ross pointing out the principal's reported salary of £418,000 is more than the combined wages of both First Minister John Swinney and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Sir Peter said when he had checked the salaries of the heads of organisations with a similar turnover to the university, 'for one of them it was £5million, for another it was £17million'.
He added: 'I was made an offer by the University of Edinburgh when I was appointed and I accepted it, and I am very satisfied with the package I was offered.'
He said his 'basic salary' is 'about £350,000', adding there is a pension supplement on top of this.
Sophia Woodman, UCU Edinburgh University branch president, said it is 'not too late' for the strike to be averted, and she called on senior management to rule out compulsory redundancies.
She said: 'Staff want a sustainable future for the university as much as anybody and we want to work with senior management to end this dispute.
'But we're clear that the use of compulsory redundancies is unacceptable.
'With the resources and reserves held by the university it can easily afford to rule out sacking staff.
'The decision to let the strike continue, with all the disruption to students that it entails and a possible marking and assessment boycott, is a matter of choice for Peter Mathieson and the university senior management.
'The union's door is open to talks and I'd appeal to them to heed this final warning, rule out compulsory redundancies and end this unnecessary dispute.'
The union claimed the proposed £140million of cuts would be the 'largest ever' made by a university in Scotland, and said management have failed to make a case for cuts of this size while at the same time planning 'record' investment in buildings and infrastructure.
It added that research and teaching staff are the 'backbone' of the university, and cutting them rather than buildings is a 'false economy'.
Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: 'UCU members at Edinburgh University are ready and willing to strike to save jobs and save this university, but disruption can still be avoided.
'Edinburgh University is a wealthy university with, at the last count, over £3billion in its reserves.
'The Scottish Government should follow the lead of ministers in Wales and call on universities to use their reserves to avoid job losses.'
The union said walkouts will take place on June 20 and September 8-12, with action short of a strike beginning on June 20.
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