In an academic environment in which truth is what you can get away with, full marks must go to Eric Thomas, vice-chancellor of Bristol University, who argued on the basis of "proper comparisons" (Letters, THES , February 14) that, "as a result of incremental drift and promotions", last year's pay settlement for university staff of 3.5 per cent was increased by 2 percentage points to 5 to 6 per cent, thus giving them "exactly the same" pay rise as that awarded to the v-cs.
What proportion of the v-cs' pay rise resulted from incremental drift and promotions, then?
David Martin
University of Wales Swansea