No agreement on BBC grading
Union officials have condemned the BBC's announcement that a new grading system will be introduced.
In a letter sent to BECTU branches, the union reassures members that no agreement has been reached on plans to regrade thousands of staff, which were tabled for the first time this week.
Negotiators were said to be "fuming" over an article in BBC staff magazine "Ariel", which announced that the regrading exercise would go ahead just one day after the plan was presented to unions.
At a meeting on October 4, where outline details of a new "job family" grading system were tabled by the BBC, BECTU and NUJ representatives told management that more details were needed, particularly on pay scales, before any serious discussion could start.
The unions also dismissed the BBC's target date of August 2005 for the introduction of a new pay and grading system as "wildly optimistic". Representatives pointed out that it had taken the BBC more than two years to come up with a first draft for a new grading system, and management had not yet produced details of new pay scales.
Talks about the new system will affect all BBC staff except for senior management, and staff in subsidiary companies BBC Worldwide and BBC Resources.
Members have been warned by the union that they should not assume that the phrase "regrading" means being moved upwards in the structure, and no increases in pay are implied.
BECTU and the NUJ have said that they are prepared to continue negotiations on the possible introduction of a new pay and grading system, but the BBC's pre-emptive attempt to push through the job family structure without agreement will cast a shadow over the talks.
Letter to BECTU members in BBC:
The BBC has chosen to publish an article this week in Ariel and on Gateway, noting the fact that talks have re-started on pay. The article does not say that there has been a lengthy gap of 9 months, caused by the BBC's failure to come forward with proposals. Nor does the article represent a true picture about those talks, and there are a number of points which need to be made.
- Firstly, the Joint Unions did not agree anything with the BBC at the meeting on Monday. In fact, we were explicit about not being able to agree to anything they said, because there was insufficient information provided.
- Secondly, the Joint Unions did not accept that there would be an agreement on the seventeen job families, in advance of knowing what salary levels would be applied to each of them.
- Thirdly, thousands of staff will not be re-graded unless the BBC reaches an agreement with the recognised trade unions, and issuing a statement that implies that we have accepted some, or all, of the proposals makes any agreement less, rather than more likely.
The BBC have agreed to provide a great deal more information about all jobs in the BBC, rather than a small sample. We have also requested salary information about each band and level in the new system. This will allow BECTU to form a view about the probable impact upon all of our members, and will mean that when we consult our members we will be able to say to them "This is what the new system will mean to you".
In the meantime, we remain committed to these talks because we want to achieve a clear rate for the job, achievable over a defined timescale; something which does not exist for thousands of our members. We are also waiting to hear the BBC's proposals on the replacement for Unpredictability Payments, and whether they are going finally to accept the concept of anti-social as well as unpredictable working. We will keep you updated as soon as we have something substantive to say.
LUKE CRAWLEY
Supervisory Official