Industrial action at Soho Images

An overtime ban is due to begin on November 24 at the leading film lab and post-production house.

BECTU members at Soho images will be working only their basic hours in protest at their 2006 pay offer which is below inflation, and late in payment.

The London-based company, owned by Ascent Media, has offered only a 2% rise this year, and proposes to pay increased salaries from July 2006, instead of the traditional April anniversary date.

Management refused to budge from the initial 2% offer despite efforts by BECTU to reach an agreed outcome to the pay talks, and members eventually voted by a majority of 86% to take industrial action short of a strike. Almost all of the 37 members involved in the vote had returned their ballot forms by the closing date of November 13.

Soho Images, sited in the heart of London's West End, has never experienced industrial unrest before, and the action is the first disruption in the laboratories sector for several decades.

BECTU rep Cameron Fraser said: "Our members are appalled that after all the hard work they have put in to keep Soho Images successful, management have offered a below-inflation rise three months later than it was due.

"We are a small branch with under 50 members, but between us we have over 500 years of service, and this is no repayment for our loyalty."

An overtime ban is likely to affect the service available to broadcast customers at weekends, including the BBC and independent production companies.

The union's original claim, which should have been settled by April 1 this year was for a rise of 5%, to acknowledge the increased productivity being offered by staff. Inflation last month stood at 3.7% per annum, and is expected to remain at more than 3% for the forseeable future.