BECTU writes on BBC pay and says there is much to do

There has been much written in the press over the last week about equal pay and salary levels within the BBC, and we thought it might help to remind you about the work of BECTU on these issues.

1)      Minimum salary levels – members will be aware that we have had a claim for a minimum BBC salary of £20k for some time. Whilst there is an improved offer within the Terms and Conditions review that offer does fall disappointingly short of our claim. The newly published data which illustrates the vast chasm between the highest and lowest paid has given our campaign renewed profile. The data we are seeing suggests that not only is our claim the correct thing to do, it is absolutely affordable. You will have seen press reports over the weekend with the head of BECTU, Gerry Morrissey, being quoted and continuing to push the BBC. This remains a key ambition of the union and we will continue to make this case. 

2)      Equal Pay for those below £150k – Stories in the national press have also quite rightly highlighted the issue of pay disparity among women and men at the very top of the BBC.BECTU’s concern  is that  this pay inequality potentially runs right the way through the organisation. As part of the Ts and Cs review we had already asked to see pay data at the BBC and we have specifically pointed out that we expect to see this broken down by gender and not just grade. We want to take this opportunity to get a proper review under way and ensure that there is action take to address pay inequality in the BBC now and not wait until legislation in April 2018 compels the BBC to undertake this work. There are broader issues about under representation of women in particular areas, BAME pay and representation across the organisation as well as equality between particular roles in the BBC that are valued differently. We suspect there is a huge amount to do here. We wanted to reassure our members that equality sits at the heart of our union agenda and we will continue our work on these issues, looking for commitments and solutions sooner rather than later.

3)      Equality of opportunity - The focus on BBC pay has also put a spotlight on the question of class, with over half of the correspondents on the £150K plus earners list having attending a fee paying school. BECTU shares concerns expressed over the weekend on this issue and as stated we will continue to interrogate this and push for change - for genuine equality of opportunity.

Having said that, the BBC does at least have important standards. 

In an industry plagued by the abuse of unpaid internships there are clear rules guiding these at the BBC to ensure they are paid at the appropriate rate and not subject to abuse. The BBC policy states “The media industry has long had a poor reputation for perpetuating a culture of “working for free” in order to get a foot on the career ladder. This culture of long, unpaid internships goes some way to explaining the lack of diversity across the media industry.” It goes on to state that unpaid internships are not acceptable. This did not come about by accident or coincidence. Along with the other Joint Unions BECTU has been pushing for this and it is demonstration of what can be achieved with effective trade union recognition.  Yes there is more we need to do on this internally, but we also need to put pressure on other broadcasters and media organisations to follow suit.

BECTU has a proud history of campaigning on equality issues and we welcome this national profile which we hope will help us in continuing to make the case for all our members at the BBC and beyond. Please talk to your colleagues about helping us with this, and joining the union via www.bectu.org.uk/bbc

As always we will keep members updated.

Best wishes

Sarah Ward, national secretary

Noel McClean, assistant national secretary.