BECTU QUESTION 3SIXTYMEDIA BUSINESS PLANS

BECTU have raised concerns regarding 3sixtymedia a Granada and BBC joint television facility being launched in Manchester on November 1.
Fears were raised at a meeting on September 1 when the Union was given an outline of the business plan for 3sixtymedia. Directors of 3sixtymedia revealed that under the plan, £8 million worth of new business has been forecast for the first year of trading, on top of the existing work being carried out by the BBC and Granada in Manchester.
However BECTU negotiators are concerned that the target will be missed leading to widespread redundancies among the 384 Granada and BBC staff who are due to transfer into the new company.
At the meeting the new management revealed that redundancy payments will be guaranteed at current Granada and BBC levels for the first three years of the company’s existence. They also promised to consider a possible guarantee of no changes in conditions of service for the first three years.
BECTU requested that the new management present the business plans to the staff affected. The meetings are scheduled to take place within a fortnight.
A spokesperson for BECTU said: “We believe that any reductions should be made before 3sixtymedia starts trading, and redundant staff should be paid off under the current agreements at the two broadcasters.
“We are also concerned about the pension contributions that 3sixtymedia will have to make in the future. Staff are being allowed to remain in their current pension schemes and the new company will pay into the funds as if they were working at Granada and BBC. However, Granada is currently taking a pension holiday. When the holiday ends in about three years 3sixtymedia will face an immediate demand for payments equal to 17 per cent of the wages paid to ex Granada staff. It will put an impossible strain on finances which casts further doubt over the long term future for 3sixtymedia.”