Unions consider two-year BBC pay deal

Unions have announced plans to ballot BBC members on a two-year pay offer pay deal.
Described by negotiators as "the best that can be achieved through negotiation", the offer, which was tabled at a day-long meeting on May 3, includes a basic pay increase of 1.8 per cent in August. It also includes a one-off performance increase of one per cent to all staff in response to union worries about the performance pay system, as long as the current boycott of appraisal interviews is suspended.
The offers also includes a promise for low-paid staff of a minimum salary of £11,500 across the BBC and a boost in London Weighting for anyone on a basic salary of less than £22,000.
The two-year pay package was the BBC's response to a claim from BECTU, NUJ and Amicus for a one-year pay increase significantly above inflation, a minimum salary of £11,000 and the restoration of rate-for-the-job.
Unions welcomed the offer for low-paid staff, especially the £11,500 minimum salary, but believed that the London Weighting proposal could cause problems, and suggested that the higher rate should be paid to staff on a basic below £25,000, not the £20,000 figure proposed by the BBC. Management then raised the threshold to £22,000.
However, a union call for the reinstatement of the special pensions formula for redundant staff, scrapped in March 2002, was rejected, although management did offer a temporary extension of a 1998 ACAS agreement giving five months notice of redundancy, while new employment legislation was considered.
A major part of the pay claim was a demand for "rate-for-the-job" to be re-introduced. Although warning that the diversity of BBC jobs would make this difficult, management proposed a joint working party to devise a new pay and grading system in which staff would have a clear idea of their pay rate once they were fully qualified.
The offer had been expected to cover all BBC staff, except those in Worldwide and BBC Resources Ltd., but BBC Technology Ltd wanted to opt out of the talks to allow separate discussions and, potentially, a different pay increase in 2002.
BECTU members should receive ballot papers shortly. Negotiators will be urging voters to look seriously at the package, warning that nothing better is likely to be won through negotiation alone.
If accepted, the increase will be paid from the anniversary date of August 1.
BECTU, www.bectu.co.uk
(KMcA)