By Nouse — February 2, 2012

The Vice-Chancellor’s pay has been a continuous discussion point over the last few years. It isn’t the highest paid in the sector, but that doesn’t mean that it is therefore justified. The angry public attitude to executive pay in the private sector is primarily targeted at those in the financial sector earning figures four or five times that of Brian Cantor’s; but the relationship between the highest and lowest pay in a company or institution is an important one. This ratio at York has been increasing over the past six years at York and this serves to reinforce the notion of a distant Vice-Chancellor at the top of the University hierarchy.

Universities such as Queen Mary’s in London have also joined the campaign and now pay a ‘Living Wage’ to all their staff. The answer isn’t that nothing should be done about the Vice-Chancellor’s salary because it is lower than the worst in the sector, but what can York do to show its commitment to fair living and help lead the sector in changing the increasing gap that is opening between the top and the bottom. A 26 per cent increase for Cantor compared with a 15 per cent increase for the lowest may be as a result of some external constraints, but if the University is committed to showing its fairness to staff, it should look to address the ever increasing divide between the best paid and the lowest.