Students have spoken out against the pay rise received by Principal Sir Gerry McCormac during UCU industrial action and student accommodation rent increases.
From 2022 to 2023, McCormac received a pay increase of £68,000. That was in addition to the 2021/2022 increase in his salary from £291,000 to £295,000. This 1.5 per cent pay award was given to all staff.
It has been reported that he received a £79,000 pay rise in the two-year period. However, a spokesperson from the University stated: “As is the case with all members of staff, the true cost of employment is greater than salary alone. However, this does not form part of any ‘package’ or ‘remuneration’.”
“It is utterly shameful that our Vice Chancellor has had this much of an increase while staff and students suffer.”
Eliot Wooding-Sherwin, Chair of Stirling Solidarity Space
The pay rise was received amidst UCU strikes. The strikes affected the university until September 2023, when repayment for docked pay during the marking and assessment boycott was accepted.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU trade union, said: “It’s shocking to see some university principals once again maximising their income while holding staff pay down.
“The 23 per cent pay hike of one principal [McCormac] is a slap in the face for all of those workers – UCU members – who participated in unprecedented levels of industrial action over the past year.
“At a time when the sector is facing cuts to its budgets and university staff were left with a real-terms pay cut, principals should be looking to offer real leadership by working for the future of higher education rather than trying to take what they can, while they can.”
Students also faced accommodation rent increases during this time, with some student accommodation rents rising by up to £525 a year.
A spokesperson from Stirling Solidarity Space, a group who supported the UCU strikes and spoke out against rent increases, commented: “Greedy Gerry has presided over crisis after crisis in his time at Stirling:
“One in eight students have been homeless. The worst industrial relations in the country – our friends in the UCU have been forced to take repeated strike action – the latest wave in direct response to Gerry’s vindictiveness. The campus for which he has ultimate responsibility is – in some places literally – falling to pieces.
“We are glad to know, however, that despite pleading poverty when it comes to issues such as hiking rent, the University clearly has money to splash – it’s just a pity their priority is their boss, not their students and workers.”
Last year, the university stated that rent increases “reflect inflationary pressures and rising operating costs – including utilities, staffing and maintenance costs.” They also added that many properties remained under inflation levels.
Stirling Solidarity’s Chair, Eliot Wooding-Sherwin, commented: “At the start of this year, my partner and I were homeless – there was simply no affordable place to live in Stirling.
“This is as a direct result of the University increasing student numbers, increasing their rents, and not adding to their housing stock.
“The University of Stirling, under Mr McCormac’s leadership, has perpetuated student homelessness. He has forced students like me into working more hours than possible alongside our studies to afford to simply live.”
Comment from the university
A spokesperson for the university said: “The Principal’s salary is set by the University’s Remuneration Committee, at a level that is appropriate to the size and scale of the job.
“As stated in the Financial Statements 2022/23, £363,000 reflects the total pay package in that year.
“For the previous eight years, beyond the national pay award, the Principal declined any increase determined by the Remuneration Committee.”
Featured Image Credit: The University of Stirling
Third year English and Journalism student at the University of Stirling 🙂
