STUC has called on Scottish Government
to legislate for all university governing
bodies to have a chair elected by all
staff and students, ensure they are representative
of the university and wider community
- including a quota for women members;
and include reserved places for trade
union representatives.
UNISON Scotland’s Davena Rankin
backing the University and College Union
Scotland’s motion said: “Senior
management pay continues to increase at
a time when workers in universities have
seen their salary fall in real terms by
15% -with one university principal in
Scotland receiving an increase of twenty
five thousand pounds”
Davena also pointed out that while universities
plead poverty they managed to spent £3.1
billion pon capital projects and £370
million pounds was spent on universities
in Scotland.
She told the STUC that part of the problem
is university principals and governors
are unrepresentative of the workers they
seek to lead and that the lack of diversity
within university governors is shocking.
Davena said “As a staff governor
I am well used to being the only black
person at meetings and across Scotland
black women are almost completely absent
from university courts. While university
courts remain unrepresentative they will
continue to be disconnected from the workers
they seek to govern and will continue
to prioritise capital spend and senior
management pay over workers terms and
conditions and poverty pay will continue
to shame our sector.”
Professor Von Prondzynski recognised
the need for increased diversity, transparency
and equality when he produced his review
on university governance. Davena said,
'It is shameful that the universities
were allowed to implement their own code
of governance thus bypassing those measures
most likely to increase diversity and
transparency.
Davena called on university courts to
reflect the diversity of their students
and staff so they are better able to understand
the impact of their decisions.
She said, "it is time the Scottish
Government stopped talking about reforming
higher education governance and moved
to introduce legislation to implement
the Von Prondzynski recommendations in
full.'
