Survey shows wide variety of academics' salaries within EU
A survey carried out by Natfhe, a UK trade union for lecturers, trainers, researchers and managers working in higher and further education shows that the salaries of academics within the EU vary considerably from country to country, with Italian academics earning the most. The survey, using figures from 1998 based on the OECD (organisation for economic cooperation and development) purchasing price index, which includes factors such as tax, housing and social costs, covered 15 developed countries, seven of which are EU Member States: Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK. Outside the EU, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Turkey and the USA were surveyed. Italian academics earned an average of 117,568 euro per annum in 1998, a figure significantly higher than that in Finland, the second EU Member State in the table, where academics could expect to earn 76,496 euro in the same year. Next in line come France, the Spain, Germany, the UK and finally Greece, where academics earned an average of 33,783 euro in 1998. The Czech Republic, the only Candidate State included in the survey came bottom of the 15, with academics earning around 18,680 in 1998. 'Poor pay is jeopardising universities' ability to attract and retain world class academic staff,' said Paul Mackney, Natfhe's general secretary. 'High expectations for widening participation and low pay for teaching and research just doesn't add up,' he said.