Readers' reactions

Last week in the TES: Natalie Fenton argued that academics were right to take industrial action over this year's pay claim:

Gerald Vinten Deputy dean and professor of management Southampton Business School Southampton Institute

Something drastic is needed. The Bett inquiry (into lecturers' pay) has come and gone, with a landscape practically unchanged. The pay differentials between vice-chancellors and their staff used to be minimal. With the move to business models, v-cs justifiably achieved comparability with the chief executives of related bodies. Other staff did not share in this bonanza and are understandably disenchanted. The continuation of third-world salaries may eventually lead to a third-world economy.