Pay deal at Leicester Haymarket

BECTU theatre members have voted to accept a 2.5% rise in Leicester.

Management made a last-minute improved offer to prevent industrial action in a pay dispute that has rumbled on since April.

The 2.5% rise, plus a non-consolidated worth up to 3% to low paid staff, will be backdated to April 1, the normal pay anniversary date.

Management at the theatre have also promised to address the low pay problem in the next pay round in April 2002, when the bonus payments will be consolidated into basic pay.

As a goodwill gesture from the theatre, the deal includes a one-off extra week of paid holiday during Easter 2002.

Bonus payments are graduated according to hourly wages, in an effort to assist lower paid staff. Those earning less than £6 per hour will receive a 3% bonus, staff on £6-8 per hour will get 2%, and the bonus for anyone earning more than £8 is 1%.

The new offer was made at ACAS earlier this week, in the face of a threatened strike on Thursday December 7. Members voted to call off the strike and accept the package at a mass meeting.

Terms and conditions at the Haymarket are negotiated locally, and the theatre is one of those outside London that are not covered by the Theatre Managers' Association (TMA) agreement.