Granada deal accepted in ballot

Union members at Granada TV have voted for a revised pay offer by a margin of 9 to 1.

In the vote, conducted by secret postal ballot, 92% of Granada TV members in Manchester and Liverpool accepted a pay offer of 3.6% backdated to January 1999, with a further increase in January 2000.

The new offer was tabled by Granada management after a work-to-rule by members, imposed when pay talks stalled earlier in the year, threatened to take several programmes off the air, including the popular soap Coronation Street.

Under a formula reached after an intervention by conciliation service ACAS, Granada management have promised talks on working time and quality of life for staff, in addition to the two-year pay increase.

BECTU recommended the new offer after a previous compromise deal was rejected by members, and expects the discussions on working conditions to begin within a few weeks.

The settlement for Granada Manchester and Liverpool staff follows a similar agreement on 1999 pay at Yorkshire and Tyne Tees Television, also part of the Granada Media Group (GMG) holding company.

Union members at London Weekend Television, another GMG company, are nearly six months into their work to rule, also over pay and working conditions, with no sign of movement from management.