9% BBC pay claim

This year's BBC pay claim is a straight demand for a 9% increase with a minimum rise of £900.

The claim, which does not cover BBC Worldwide staff, breaks from tradition by dropping the usual conditions of service demands.

The BBC unions decided that, in a year when inflation and average pay settlements were rising quickly, it was better to avoid complicating the claim with demands that were not directly pay-related.

Over the last five years a gap has opened up between BBC pay rises and average increases in industry which would need a 5.5% increase in Corporation pay to close. The 9% claim is intended to restore the shortfall while taking into account UK inflation, currently running at 3.2%

Increased productivity from staff, growth in licence income, and the fat-cat salary increases awarded to senior management are among the arguments that will be put forward to the BBC in support of the claim.

BBC unions BECTU, NUJ and AEEU have submitted the claim well in advance of the August anniversary date to allow plenty of time for negotiations.