Students are paying more than ever for university, but being ignored when it comes to deciding on where a big slice of their tuition fee money goes. This petition is demanding that the college change their rules to allow for a student representative to sit on the committee that decides management pay in future. Here’s why:

The stats

Last year the warden was awarded a whopping 9.2% pay increase, bringing his annual salary up to £225,000. Other increases saw three other members of senior management earning between £100,000-£109,000 and one other earning between £110,000-£119,999[1].

These stark figures expose a widening pay disparity within the university, with the lowest paid staff members facing a real terms pay cut of more than -13% in the past 4 years[2].  

Who currently decides management pay?

At the moment the people who decide this belong to a committee you’ve never heard of before, called The Remuneration Committee[3]. We don’t know what goes on at all in these meetings, as no minutes or statements are publicly released.

The committee is chaired by a Baroness from the House of Lords and includes a JP Morgan banker and executive of Time Out Group[4]. In the history of Goldsmiths there has never been a student on this committee. This is what we aim to change.

Why is this change important, and will it even make a difference?

This is far more than a tokenistic or symbolic change. It is imperative that students are involved in all of the key decision making bodies of the university. Currently, student union representatives sit on a range of boards and committees where they provide valuable student representation and reassurance to the student body not just that their money is being spent in the right way, but that they get a say on how their own university is run.

Furthermore, in their written “vision and values” handbook, Goldsmiths state one of their aims as “[daring] to think differently and challenge the norms”[5]. We’d encourage them prove this vision is more than a filler for a glossy open day brochure and put a student on remuneration committee.

Next steps

We urge Pat Loughrey (the warden) to release a statement publicly in favour of having a student sitting on this committee and put the wheels in motion to make this happen.

Until that happens, we’re going to ramp up the campaign. There’ll be demonstrations, flash mobs and publicity stunts. We’re currently seeking NUS backing and we’ll go to the government department which overlooks universities and seek their support.

What else can you do to support the campaign?

• Share this petition amongst friends and get them to sign

• Email the warden directly, on warden@gold.ac.uk asking him to support the campaign

• For updates on the campaign, like our facebook page here  

 

[1] http://www.theleopard.co.uk/pats-cash-goldsmiths-wardens-225k-salary-revealed/

[2] http://www.ucu.org.uk/hepay13

[3] http://www.gold.ac.uk/committees/tor/council-side/renumeration/

[4] http://www.theleopard.co.uk/comment-no-more-excuses-students-should-have-a-say-on-management-pay/

[5] Paper copy available, extracts online here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140122145147/http:/www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Exhibit-JC31.pdf