Australian Public Universities Vice-Chancellor Salaries and Workforce Casualisation: Ethical Tension?

Abstract

Australian public universities’ Vice-Chancellors (VC) are among the highest paid in the world, with an individual average yearly income in excess of one million Australian Dollars, or about twice the annual income of the Prime Minister. Although universities are significantly government funded, they individually set their VC remuneration. Recent estimates put VC salaries at least 10 time that of an average lecturer’ income. The rationale given for such high salaries is that VC perform roles that are synonymous with those of free enterprise CEOS and, therefore, they should be remunerated accordingly. However, universities are neither free enterprises, nor do they operate in a ‘free-market’, as student fees are controlled by the government and universities cannot simply act as an entrepreneur and manipulate prices. As government funding continues to shrink, universities have reduced the permanent academic workforce, replacing this with casual academics, employed on precarious contracts that provide no job security, and raise questions over the long-term quality of education. This paper highlights some of the ethical dilemmas of this environment and offers suggestions for changing the status quo.