BBC pay talks continue

Another meeting has been held to discuss pay grading and UPAs at the BBC.

BECTU and NUJ representatives met management on December 16 to continue a series of meetings which began with the annual pay settlement in August 2002.

The talks cover a new pay and grading system, as well as possible changes to Unpredictability Allowances (UPAs) which are paid to more than two out of five staff.

During this year's pay talks, BBC management promised that the 2003 pay increase would be improved by 0.5% if agreement had been reached on the pay structure and UPAs by August.

All staff directly employed by the BBC, except senior management, would be affected by any changes agreed in the talks, as will employees of the recently-incorporated BBC Broadcast Limited.

Staff in BBC Worldwide and BBC Resources are not covered by the talks, while BBC Technology Limited is sitting in on the discussions without deciding at this stage whether to implement any new system among its workforce.

In accordance with the communications policy agreed at the beginning of the negotiations a joint communique was issued following this week's meeting.

Statement issued by BECTU, NUJ, and BBC on December 19 2002

Joint Communication

Discussions continue between the BBC and the trade unions on the development of a new pay and grading structure and to discuss the future of UPA's for BBC staff in grades 2 to 11.

Work on developing the new pay structure and the future of UPA is still at the consultative design stage and given the size, scope and complexity of the task it is unlikely that the BBC will publicly announce its proposals until March 2003 at the earliest.

The BBC has shared a range of pay data and its financial position with the unions to inform the debate and currently, the discussions are focussing around six key themes:

  • Pay Structure
  • Salary Progression
  • Bonus
  • Career Development
  • Performance Management
  • UPA and contract expectations around working hours

Further meetings will be held in the New Year.

Luke Crawley
Supervisory Official
BBC Division
BECTU

John Fray
Deputy General Secretary
NUJ

Gillian Alford
Head of Employee Relations & Policy
BBC

19 December 2002