Pro Palestine and climate activists gathered outside the celebrations, urging the fund to pull out of companies such as Shell, TotalEnergies, and Airbus.
Stuart Graham from Unison Scotland said: “It has now been four years since Strathclyde Pension Fund promised to cut ties with companies fuelling climate breakdown, but still no action has been taken.
“And now some of the same companies are literally fuelling the genocide in Palestine.
“While the hard-earned, deferred wages of our council workers, carers, early years and other public sector workers continue to be outrageously funnelled into investments that profit from disaster capitalism.”
Protestors waved placards and sang an “un-Happy” birthday song while the event went on inside.
Glasgow City councillors voted to divest the pension fund from fossil fuel companies four years ago, but campaigners say the firm has yet to set a timeline or strategy for these changes.
Imaan Niven from Time to Divest Glasgow added: “Over the past three months, since the launch of our campaign, the genocide in Palestine has worsened, but we can see the tide turning.
“Strathclyde Pension Fund has failed to even acknowledge demands for divestment, putting itself at the risk of breaking international law for their part in failing to prevent and instead, aiding and profiting from the death and destruction in Palestine. We urge SPF to meet our demands before it is too late. The time to divest is now.”
Earlier this month, First Minister John Swinney announced the Scottish government would pause the award of public funds to arms companies involved in the war in Gaza.
He said: “In the face of genocide, there can be no business as usual.
“We will pause new awards of public money to arms companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country – that will include Israel.”
Sally Clark from Friends of the Earth Scotland added: “With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record and extreme weather devastating millions of lives around the world, it has never been more urgent for Strathclyde Pension Fund to stop gambling with our lives.”