Staff at Staffordshire University are set to walk out over plans to hire new staff through a subsidiary company, meaning they will not be given access to a defined benefit pension.
The University and College Union balloted its Staffordshire University members in February over strike action, arguing the university’s plans amounted to the creation of a “two-tier workforce”.
Almost three-quarters (70 per cent) of staff who voted in the ballot backed strike action, with 80 per cent backing action short of a strike. Turnout exceeded the minimum 50 per cent threshold introduced by the government, meaning strike action — scheduled for March 28 — can go ahead.
New staff employed via the subsidiary company will not have access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, being placed instead in a defined contribution scheme that the UCU has branded inferior.
The TPS has seen a raft of institutions, particularly independent schools, leave in recent years as costs have spiralled. National Education Union staff are currently embroiled in a battle with the Girls’ Day School Trust over its plans to withdraw from the scheme.
The UCU argued that Staffordshire University’s plans would splinter the workforce, creating “a poor working environment”.
UCU regional official Anne O’Sullivan said: “This huge vote for strike action should make management end plans to put staff on to inferior contracts with inferior pensions.
“Staffordshire’s plans are an attack on our hard-won terms and conditions. Unless they are withdrawn, staff will stage a one-day walkout later this month with further industrial action likely.
“No other university has removed access for staff to the national pension scheme. Colleagues doing exactly the same work should not be on different contracts,” she continued.
“As well as facing strike action, unless the university abandons plans to create a two-tier workforce, it will also struggle to attract and retain staff who will look to work elsewhere. This will lead to a devastating impact on student learning, threatening the university’s future.”
A Staffordshire University spokesperson said: "All new members of academic and professional support staff have been employed through a subsidiary since August 1 2021 following a consultation process with the recognised trade unions.
"This builds upon the creation of the subsidiary in 2018 when new staff in grades one to six were employed through this route.
"This arrangement was created to allow the move away from a defined benefit pension scheme to a defined contribution scheme, for new staff. The ballot held by UCU was not about the change of pension provision and therefore it is unclear why they have chosen to criticise this.
"Any concerns regarding a fragmented workforce, on which they balloted specifically, are unfounded. This has never been an issue since we started this approach in 2018, and UCU have provided no tangible example of where this is the case."
Benjamin Mercer is a senior reporter at FTAdviser's sister publication Pensions Expert
