St Andrews and Dundee universities have described a report from the University and College Union Scotland on pay increases for principals as deliberately “misleading”.
It came as St Andrews University emphasised that its principal has not accepted a pay increase for five years.
Abertay University has also stated that its principal’s salary is no secret as it is published in annual accounts each year.
The report claimed that just six out of 15 institutions sent minutes of their remuneration committee the powerful committee tasked with setting the principal’s pay.
The report claims that of those, two sent redacted minutes and just the universities of Glasgow and Stirling included any sort of details on the pay award.
UCU said the time had come for “the lid to be lifted on inflation-busting pay rises for people running universities”.
But a spokesman for Dundee University said: “This report is wilfully misleading on the part of UCU. The principal’s salary is set by the remuneration committee, on which the principal does not sit.
“The principal’s salary is £224,422, compared to £222,200 the previous year.”
A St Andrews spokesman said: “Full details of her remuneration are published in the university’s accounts annually.”