BBC pay negotiations set to begin
Talks with the BBC on this year's 9% pay claim are due to start on July 13, although the management could pull out of negotiations if the NUJ decides to ballot members for action on the separate issues of salary management and multiplying.
The claim was submitted in March, but the BBC refused to start talks until BECTU's industrial action campaign on salary management, multiplying and Resources had ended. Although BECTU is expecting members to accept the peace package tabled at ACAS after the 24-hour stoppage on June 4, the NUJ has still not delivered its final view on the ACAS proposals.
Over the last two weeks the Journalists' union has been "seeking clarification" of the ACAS package, and by July 10 will have held directorate-level meetings with BBC Broadcast and News. NUJ negotiators expect to make a final decision on July 10, and could run a ballot of members for industrial action to improve the ACAS offer.
However, the unions are arguing strongly that the pay talks are separate from the June dispute, and if talks begin on July 13, they will be pushing hard for an offer that meets the claim for an across-the-board 9% rise, coupled with a minimum increase of £1,000.
The text of the original claim is below:
To Margaret Salmon Director of Personnel.
27th February 1998
Dear Margaret,
After consultation with branches and chapels, it has become clear that our members believe their standard of living has decreased in recent years, and at the same time their productivity has never been greater. We have therefore exceptionally decided this year not to put forward any claim for improvements to conditions of service. Our claim is for an improvement to basic pay and associated allowances only.
Since 1993 average pay awards across industry have risen much faster than BBC pay awards. Below I outline the differences between industry awards and BBC awards since 1993, which show that BBC staff are 5.6% worse off than workers in industry generally.
| Pay year |
BBC increase |
Average earnings |
| August 1993 | 1.5% | 3.1% |
| August 1994 | 3.0% | 3.9% |
| August 1995 | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| August 1996 | 2.6% | 3.7% |
| August 1997 | 2.8% | 4.6% |
With inflation currently at 3.2% and pay awards in industry averaging 4.9% for the year and 6.2% for the last three months the joint unions' claim is as follows:
- (a)Basic rates and allowances should increase by 9%, subject to a minimum of £900 per annum. The flat rate will help to improve the lot of the lower paid staff within the organisation.
- (b)For the past two years the floors of the grades have been frozen. The joint unions wish this policy to cease with immediate effect.
In support of our claim I make the following points:
- The Licence Fee will increase by RPI + 3% in April.
- You have collected at least half a million pounds more from licences than expected.
- Efficiency measures, most of them affecting employment and staff conditions have resulted in £600 million being saved.
- The sale of Transmission has generated more than £200 million.
- The published annual report for last year showed that members of the executive committee received increases in pay as high as 39.5%.
- Since 1993-94 BBC staff numbers have moved from 21,923 with a total salary bill of £660.9 million to 20,734 with a salary bill of £667.5 million in 1997.
- Pay talks will take place against the background of the as yet unresolved matter of Salary Management and "growth in the job", the shortcomings in the implementation of which have saved the BBC significant sums of money.
To conclude, efficiency savings and an above RPI increase in the Licence Fee mean that the organisation has funds available to reward staff properly for their skills. BBC wage awards are falling behind industry generally. However executives in the BBC have been given increases that would embarrass even the most extreme free market supporters.
In recent years staff have endured poor pay awards, thousands of redundancies and deterioration in conditions, while the BBC has enjoyed increased productivity. The money is available to meet the claim, and I look forward to you replying positively to it when we meet. As I have made this claim as detailed as possible I hope that you will be in a position to reply on behalf of the BBC when we have our first meeting.
I look forward to agreeing a date for that first meeting.
Yours sincerely,
GERRY MORRISSEY
BROADCASTING SUPERVISORY OFFICIAL