Professor Nigel Thrift, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, saw his pay rise by £50,000 (21%) over 2011/12 to £316,000 (including pension contributions). This is the single highest pay increase of any vice-chancellor in the UK.
This pay increase comes at the same time as the University has hit staff with huge pay cuts, they have slipped out of the top 50 rankings in the world (a stated aim of the VC), they have trebled tuition fees and seen a substantial drop in applications from home and EU students.
This salary increase is unjustified by simply looking at the internal financial factors facing the University, but it is also morally reprehensible given the current challenges facing the academic community at Warwick, the staff cuts in place and the recent poor performance.
This petition calls for the following:
1) For the Remuneration Committee to make a public statement explaining its processes that led to its proposed increase in the Vice-Chancellor's salary at a time when other staff members are facing pay cuts.
2) For the University Council to act to drop plans to increase the Vice-Chancellor's salary, and instead allocate the £50,000 towards either tuition fees bursaries for students from low income backgrounds, or its reputable widening access programmes such as Warwick Inspire.
3) For the Remuneration Committee to invite a Students' Union sabbatical officer to attend all future discussions of increases to staff salaries beyond incremental rises.
4) For the Vice-Chancellor to guarantee there will be no course closures or staff redundancies at a time when the university is making a surplus and is considering lucrative pay increases to its management staff.
