Vice-Chancellor’s pay rise angers trade unions

Vice-Chancellor Keith Burnett's pay rise has incensed trade unions

The University of Sheffield’s Vice Chancellor Keith Burnett has been awarded a pay rise of six per cent, infuriating trade unions.

Burnett’s salary has increased from £294,000 to £311,000, a rise which trade union bosses say is a “slap in the face.”

Unison Branch Secretary Stuart Anderson told The Sheffield Star: “For the Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield University to get a pay rise of six per cent taking his total remuneration to over £311,000, in the same year that the university effectively tore up many people’s retirement plans is obscene and a slap in the face for ordinary workers.

“This six per cent rise in these times will go down like a bucket of cold sick with our members, it is morally irresponsible and more becoming of the obscene bankers bonuses and greedy CEOs than the actions of a leader of a civic institution like the University of Sheffield.”

Last May workers and lecturers at the university went on strike in protest over pensions cuts.

A University of Sheffield Spokesman said: “Professor Keith Burnett is a leading Vice-Chancellor in the UK University sector and his total remuneration package is in the mid-range when reviewed against that of Vice-Chancellors from comparator universities.

“The Vice-Chancellor and all senior staff received the nationally-agreed pay award of 0.4 per cent in the 2010/11 financial year. The 5.8 per cent increase in the Vice-Chancellor’s total remuneration package from 2009/10 to 2010/11 arises due to the award of a non-consolidated performance bonus payment in 2010/11.

“His salary reflects the huge responsibility of leading a complex organisation ranked in the top 100 Universities in the world.”