Staff at the University of Northumbria are set to vote on whether to take strike action after they were told their pay would be frozen if they did not switch to a cheaper pension scheme.

Last week the university announced that it was looking to incentivise staff to give up their Teachers’ Pension Scheme plan, which has an employer contribution rate of 28.7 per cent, and instead move to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which has a lower employer contribution of 14.5 per cent.

Staff who refuse to move will have their pay frozen, the university said, with those committing to the change receiving a one-off payment of between £5,800 and £10,000.

But at a University and College Union (UCU) meeting of almost 250 members, more than 99 per cent of attendees voted to declare a dispute over the issue. The union said that an official industrial action ballot is “imminent” unless the university withdraws the proposal.

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Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said “telling staff they must choose between their pay or their pension is no choice at all”.

“The anger from our members is palpable, and was crystal clear at this week’s mass meeting. They are rightly furious about being forced to pay the price for decisions made by university management.”

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In a blog post last week, the university’s chief people officer and deputy vice-chancellor and provost wrote that the TPS pension was “compounding” financial difficulties faced by post-92 universities, amid calls for the government to scrap universities’ obligations to offer the scheme.

A Northumbria spokesperson said TPS “costs universities 100 per cent more in pensions costs to employ a member of academic staff to do the same job that it costs universities who offer the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)”.

“This places newer universities at a significant financial disadvantage at a time when the sector is already experiencing severe financial pressures,” they added.

The university “has been investigating ways to address this”, the spokesperson said, adding the cost to Northumbria was more than £22.5 million per year, over £11 million more than USS would cost.

“Under the proposal, colleagues in TPS will still receive increments until they reach the top of their grade and they may be promoted to higher grades however the salary level at each point would not increase in the short term, in recognition of the very high pension cost,” the spokesperson said. 

They added that the university believes its “approach is both fair to colleagues as it provides them with choice and addresses a sector-wider disparity in pension contributions that places a significant higher cost burden on post-1992 universities”.

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But Grady said “Northumbria’s leadership is rushing through a process that has no place in higher education and may face industrial action if the proposals are followed through”.

“It needs to think again or risk serious reputational risk and becoming an educational establishment which loses the respect of staff, students and the local community.”

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Meanwhile, staff at the University of Derby have voted to strike over the threat of compulsory redundancies and course closures, UCU said.

On a turnout of 66 per cent, 82 per cent backed strikes, and 93 per cent supported taking action short of a strike, after the university declined to rule out compulsory job losses and course closures for the 2025-26 academic year.

Derby has already faced two previous rounds of redundancies in recent years, which have targeted research and managerial positions. The union said it would drop strike action if the university commits to no compulsory redundancies.

“This overwhelming mandate for action at Derby is yet another sign that university staff across the UK will not tolerate needless cuts,” Grady said. “The university's management could resolve this dispute immediately by ruling out compulsory redundancies and working with UCU to develop a fair, sustainable financial plan. Staff deserve security, respect and a voice in shaping the future of their institution.”

A spokesperson for the University of Derby said: “We fully respect the right of staff to take industrial action but are disappointed that UCU is proposing to pursue a course of action which could disadvantage our students, as we have taken particular care to ensure that they are not impacted by the changes we are proposing.

“We have fully engaged with the unions and other representatives throughout this process and we remain committed to continuing open and constructive dialogue and will do all we can to avoid the need for industrial action and disruption to our students.” 

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tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com