University and College Union (UCU) members at Northumbria University are set to be balloted on local industrial action, after formally declaring a dispute over plans to move them from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

According to UCU, the university has told staff that those who refuse to move to the new scheme will have their pay frozen, a measure the union argued would lock affected staff into “years of real-terms pay cuts”.

Northumbria stated that the change could save up to £11m a year in pay and pension costs, but the UCU labelled the proposals an “attack on long-term retirement security”.

The union confirmed that more than 99 per cent of almost 250 UCU members present at a mass meeting this week voted to declare a dispute over the changes, with a ballot for local industrial action expected imminently if the university does not withdraw its plans.

The row adds to concern about the financial pressures facing the higher education sector and the implications for pension provision.

UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, said: “Telling staff they must choose between their pay or their pension is no choice at all. Pensions are about the long-term. Senior management are only thinking short-term.

"The anger from our members is palpable… They are rightly furious about being forced to pay the price for decisions made by university management.”

She warned that Northumbria’s leadership was “rushing through a process that has no place in higher education”, adding that the university risked “serious reputational damage” if it did not reconsider.

Responding to the union’s announcement, a spokesperson for Northumbria University stressed that the rising cost of TPS was a “widely recognised issue” across the sector, particularly for post-1992 institutions required to offer TPS, which the university said results in almost “100 per cent more in pensions costs” compared with institutions offering USS.

The spokesperson added that TPS currently costs the university more than £22.5m per year, over £11m more than USS would.

Consequently, Northumbria confirmed that it had secured an agreement to change its membership terms with USS and was now offering academic staff the option to switch schemes.

“We are proposing a total reward approach that will give academic staff greater choice and flexibility in how they receive their salary and pension,” the spokesperson argued, adding that the university was “engaging openly and transparently” with staff and UCU.

Under the current proposal, TPS members would continue to receive incremental progression and may be promoted, although the salary levels at each grade point would be frozen “in the short term”.

Staff choosing USS would receive “competitive pay” with annual increases in line with sector awards, the university said.

The spokesperson stressed that the proposals were intended to address a “sector-wide disparity in pension contributions” that places a “significantly higher cost burden on post-1992 universities”, and described the changes as a "fair choice" for colleagues.

In its recent skills white paper, the government indicated it was prepared to consider loosening the rules surrounding post-92 universities’ mandatory participation in such pension schemes.

Several other institutions have also been accused of moving staff to alternative pension schemes to save costs.

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