Organisation - March 24, 2010

No more subsidies because of top salaries

Wageningen UR will not receive any more subsidies from the provincial government of Gelderland, because its Executive Board members are paid salaries above the Balkenende standard.

The States-Provincial of Gelderland decided earlier this month that the provincial government may no longer subsidize any institution if there are grounds to believe that it pays salaries above the Balkenende standard of €181,000. Besides Wageningen UR, 35 other institutions in Gelderland would stop receiving subsidies, reported the newspaper De Gelderland. Among these institutions are universities, hospitals and housing associations.
The provincial office reckons that the Radboud University Medical Centre and Wageningen UR would not lower the salaries of their top men for the sake of obtaining a provincial subsidy. Among those receiving financial support from the provincial government are Food Valley Wageningen and various research projects undertaken by Wageningen institutes.