Two days after the start of a strike over a proposal to move support staff from Strathclyde Pension Fund to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the court of Strathclyde University unanimously approved it. 

A two-week strike over pensions started at the university on 10 March. On 7 March, union members had rejected proposals by the university which Unite said “included increases in one-off and ongoing pension contributions as part of the proposed transfer into an inferior superannuation scheme". Unite said the dispute intensified because of “cynical last-minute attempts by the university to row back on its initial detrimental pension proposals”. 

However, on 12 March, two days after the strike began and after nine months of staff consultation and union negotiations, the university court approved the move to USS. The university’s executive team had previously given its unanimous support to the proposal. 

University principal Sir Jim McDonald said: “This decision has been made for the good of all of our staff and students and to secure a sustainable basis for Strathclyde’s continued success.” 

He argued the step was crucial for financial resilience and the university would maintain “excellent pension provisions” for staff.

“The higher education sector across the UK faces substantial financial pressures, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to make this change proactively. This transition will allow us to access the surplus within the SPF scheme while protecting our staff, students, and the broader University community from wider sector challenges,” he said. 

The university’s SPF scheme for cleaning and maintenance staff has a surplus of £106.5m, subject to actuarial valuation. The transition will allow the university to access this.  

 

 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called the move “nothing but a shameful cash grab on the pensions of hardworking and loyal workers, some of whom have spent their whole working lives at the university".

Unite regional coordinating officer Alison MacLean said: “Make no mistake, our members stand to lose thousands of pounds in their retirement. Yet this attack doesn’t need to happen. Overall, Strathclyde university has a robust and healthy financial position.”

She added: “The management team is attacking some of its poorest paid workers while exorbitant executive pay remains untouched. Unite will not accept this and we will fight these proposals every step of the way.”

The employer’s proposals come as Strathclyde University sees contributions to the LGPS shoot up from 6.5% to 17.5% of salaries from April 2026, subsidised from surplus. The cost of providing benefits for future service was calculated as 21.9% of pay, to fund benefits with a 1/49th accrual rate. Strathclyde Pension Fund as a whole was 147% funded at the 2023 valuation, with an £8.9bn surplus.

Leaving the LGPS has long been unaffordable for affiliated employers – LGPS funds were even accused of profiting on the back of communities by insisting on a gilts basis for exit debt valuations – but favourable valuations are making it possible to exit. In 2023, the CrossReach section of the Church of Scotland’s Staff pension fund exited two LGPS funds. CrossReach received a net cash benefit of about £3.5m from this, which more than made up for the organisation’s deficit.