At least 1,000 staff at Cambridge University are earning below the "living wage", unions claim, around 20 times less than the annual package of the vice-chancellor. Figures suggest some housekeepers, cleaners, waitresses, kitchen porters and gardeners take home the equivalent of less than £12,334 a year – the minimum wage for a 40-hour week.
At the same time, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the university’s head, earns almost £250,000. The average vice-chancellor is paid £219,000 but some earn more than £400,000, including benefits.
The National Union of Students published the figures as it launched a joint campaign today – alongside Unison – to highlight the stark pay differentials in British higher education.
They are lobbying for all colleges, universities and student unions to pay a “living wage” for all staff.
It has pledged to publish figures “naming and shaming” those universities that pay large numbers of staff below the minimum wage. Read More
