Scottish Media ballot begins

Union members at Scottish and Grampian TV are balloting for strike action.

Ballot forms were sent out on March 3, and the ballot closes on Friday March 17. The ballot follows a break-down in talks with Scottish Media Group on redundancies and changes in pay and conditions, and BECTU is recommending members to vote in favour of action.

A meeting in late February, which the unions had hoped would break the impasse in talks, ended with management tabling proposals which negotiators believed were worse than those originally presented in January.

Under UK labour laws, companies must be given 7 days notice of a strike ballot, and a further 7 days warning of industrial action once the ballot closes.