Mastodawn

the University and College Union at University of Edinburgh have voted in favour of strike action in response to potential 1800 job loses and another round of massive cuts. (background here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14418/New-strike-ballot-at-Edinburgh-University-in-dispute-over-cuts-and-job-losses, no announcement yet)

This is at Edinburgh, where the principal did not know **his own salary** when asked at a Scottish Parliament committee https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-university-boss-who-didnt-31811867. (It is almost 500k)

Another sign of broken higher education in the UK. Solidarity with UoE staff ✊

#he #union #unionstrong #uoe #ucu #ucu_strike

New strike ballot at Edinburgh University in dispute over cuts and job losses

Members of UCU at the University of Edinburgh will today begin a new ballot in a new dispute over £140 million cuts and up to 1,800 job losses, workload, hidden redundancies and meaningful consultation with unions.

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MidgePhoto 6d ago

@millerdl Not knowing one's salary might suggest the money isn't the primary driver for doing a job one perhaps thinks worth doing.
Which has some merit.

Concentrating on one's own salary is common, but people whose main drive is that are sometimes not the ideal ones to run public institutions, particularly those with purposes other than direct profit.

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David Lawrence Miller

@Photo55 Sorry I don't buy this in this case.

If you're earning at that level you need to provide a full tax return to HMRC, you probably have an accountant, you are on a personal contract with the University and therefore make a case for your pay increase each year outwith collective bargaining. Not knowing your salary to within 10k is preposterous.

Whether or not you know on a day-to-day basis, if you're going to a parliamentary inquiry about the finances of your institution, you should be prepared to answer that kind of question.

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t1pGy52JPoo

Edinburgh University principal 'doesn't know exact salary'

YouTube

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MidgePhoto 6d ago

@millerdl
I'd suggest that asking in advance is probably sensible if one (or a ctee) actually wants information rather than to make a point.
Also, I was not on a salary nor at that level, but I would have been far more vague about my annual drawings late in my career when it was more than "enough" than 40 years earlier or at university when I knew to the pound what I was getting (and how much beer was affordable).

My accountant produced numbers once a year, and I took note of my bank balance.