Uni boss gets 'bumper' pay as redundancies loom

A "bumper" pay rise for the University of Portsmouth's vice-chancellor, while some staff face redundancy, has been criticised by a union.

Accounts show, external Prof Graham Galbraith's total pay increased by almost £15,000 between 2022 and 2023.

The University and College Union (UCU) said staff faced "savage cuts" as part of restructuring plans.

The university said Prof Galbraith's leadership had been "key to a number of achievements".

In March, it was reported that the university was preparing for an “academic reset” which could lead to 47 staff members losing their jobs.

It comes after the university revealed plans to invest £250m in new buildings and open spaces throughout the city.

Moray McAuley, regional official of UCU, said staff and students “will likely be concerned about the vice-chancellor enjoying another bumper pay rise as the university prepares to make savage cuts in staffing levels”.

She continued: “It cannot be right that the university is putting staff at risk of redundancy while spending on ‘key management personnel’ has risen by over £100,000, and it is set to spend millions on new buildings.”

Accounts showed Prof Galbraith's salary amounted to £312,000, benefits and pension costs.

The university said the salary reflected his responsibility for "managing a successful international institution with 28,000 students and 2,800 staff, and a turnover of £312m in 2022-23″.

It said the university had been affected by national issues such as the freeze of student fees, challenges in student recruitment and inflation.

It said "no final decisions" had been made over redundancies.

“The university is responding to this with a series of proposals to improve and innovate in the provision of our education and in the running of our operations," it said.

“We have not made these proposals lightly. Redundancies are extremely difficult for all those involved and we are working hard to limit the number as much as possible through natural attrition and voluntary redundancy."

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