In response to union pressure, the Federal government has announced a new independent council to review executive salaries and crack down on wage theft in the higher education sector.
The announcement is a major victory for the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), which has consistently pushed for governance reform across Australian universities.
NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said “NTEU members have comprehensively shifted the dial on obscene vice-chancellor pay packets through bravely speaking out about the governance nightmares at their workplaces. This victory is years in the making.”
The average Australian Vice Chancellor makes over $1 million dollars a year, significantly higher than UK university leaders who make closer to $600,000 AUD a year.
While the body will not directly set VC salaries, remuneration will be benchmarked against top public servants who currently make substantially less.
The union released a report showing that 306 university executives were paid more than state premiers.
University of Sydney VC Mark Scott’s salary is set by the University Senate, and including various bonuses was over $1.1 million last year, double the head of the Department of Education or head of the CSIRO.
A University of Sydney spokesperson told Honi Soit that “Mark Scott agreed to a remuneration package at his appointment significantly less than his predecessor.”
“All roles at the University are remunerated according to the size and scope of the role, the frameworks set by our Enterprise Agreement (where applicable) and University policy, our diversity and gender pay equity objectives, and prevailing market conditions.”
Alongside reforming executive pay, Federal Education Minister Jason Clare condemned widespread wage theft at universities: “There have been too many shocking examples of wage theft. All workers should rightly expect their employer pays them correctly and fairly.”
Over 140,000 staffers have been underpaid an estimated $400 million in recent years. Multiple Universities including USyd have set aside funding in their annual budgets to account for potential underpayments.
The USyd spokesperson said that “The University of Sydney supports efforts to strengthen the governance arrangements within Australia’s university sector. We are already doing our own work in areas like ensuring our people are paid correctly and fairly.”
While praising the government’s response, Barnes said “Of course there’s more to do and we stand ready to help the government implement these changes.”
