University of Bath Vice Chancellor's Day

Vice Chancellor's Day Party at University of Bath

On February 2nd 2015, Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts held a Vice Chancellor's Day celebration, this time at the University of Bath, in recognition of the Vice Chancellor, Glynis Breakwell, having earned three times as much as the lowest paid worker at the university.

Vice Chancellor's Day cake

Over 300 people attended the celebration outside the university library, with music, party hats and a cake with Vice Chancellor's face on it. A petition for a living wage for staff at the university was signed by 295 people, and a card was presented to the Vice Chancellor's Office.

On Monday 2 February, Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts held a celebration to mark the date on which the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bath, one of Bath's biggest employers, earned three times as much as the annual income of the lowest paid worker. The purpose of the celebration was to draw attention to the wage disparity between the lowest paid workers at the university and the Vice Chancellor.

Vice Chancellor Glynis Breakwell currently earns £395,000 a year, compared to the lowest paid workers, who earn around £11,000 a year. The Vice Chancellor recently received a pay rise of £11,000.

Placards at the University of Bath Vice Chancellor's Day

The party comes on the day the Vice Chancellor signed a letter to The Times arguing that cutting tuition fees would "damage the economy, affect the quality of students' education, and set back work on widening access to education." (Note: The hyperlink takes to The Times' paywall, however a screenshot of the article can be found on this Facebook link). Reiss McGuinness, a member of Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts, said "As to be expected."

A student at the party told us: "It was great to get such a positive response from so many students and staff for our Vice Chancellor's Day celebration and more signatures on our petition for a living wage for staff".

The action comes after another Vice Chancellor's Day at Bath Spa University on 23rd January, when the Vice Chancellor there had earned the same amount as the lowest paid worker at the university, and a Free Education march in Bath city centre on 31st January this year.

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Vice Chancellor's Days - Coming to a University Near You Very Soon

Bath Spa Vice Chancellor meme

Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts have announced that they will be celebrating Vice Chancellors Days - the date on which the Vice Chancellor of each university will have earned as much as the lowest paid worker at the universities - at both University of Bath and Bath Spa University. This announcement comes just days after they announced that another march will be taking place on Saturday 31st January, starting at 12:00 noon at Bath Abbey.

The campaigners intend to hold parties with cakes and a large cheque to "celebrate" the occasion.

The dates and Facebook events for the Vice Chancellor's Days are as follows:

Bath Spa University - Friday 23rd January, 12:00 https://www.facebook.com/events/777131672380454

University of Bath - Monday 2nd February, 12:00 https://www.facebook.com/events/1394516767517438

University of Bath Vice Chancellor meme

The University of Bath Vice Chancellors Day will be celebrating the date on which the Vice Chancellor will have earned twice as much as the lowest paid worker. They have also produced a pair of hard-hitting memes that have gone viral this evening on social media featuring the Vice Chancellors of both universities.

Meanwhile, universities across the country will be taking similar actions after members of Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts brought the idea to the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts conference back in December.

In a statement earlier today, Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts said:

"The protests over Vice Chancellor's salaries were designed to coincide with the day when their annual pay would have overtaken the pay of the lowest paid full-time staff. What we found most immediately shocking was how early in the year this actually occurs. In some cases, it is so early in the year that many students have yet to return from their Christmas break.

The initial intention was for a tongue-in-cheek celebration for the Vice Chancellor, the reason being to create a demonstration with a positive, non-intimidatory atmosphere to attract students who may be new to the campaign and new to activism in general. It was also hoped that the staff on campus would appreciate some cake, music and gentle mocking of the Vice Chancellor on their lunch-break.

The aim of the action is to raise awareness of the ridiculous pay disparity between the highest and lowest paid staff, pressure the university management to reassess the current situation and to embarrass the Vice Chancellor as much as possible. We hope that more education bosses realise that they can't get away with accepting six-figure salaries and pay increases of significantly more than other staff.

While Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts have been very proactive in promoting the actions, credit must be given to the member of University of Bath UCU who devised the original idea.

We are very excited to see that these protests are taking place nationwide and are looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts stand in solidarity with all students and staff who will participating in these actions. We believe the sharing of ideas between groups is imperative for the progression of the movement."

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