Carlton to ballot after rejecting 2.5%

Members of BECTU, NUJ, and AEEU at Carlton TV are to ballot for industrial action over pay.

The company's offer of a 2.5% increase was turned down by members at site meetings in Nottingham, Birmingham, and Abingdon during January. BECTU has now given notice that an industrial action ballot will start on February 12, ending on February 26.

A union suggestion that ACAS should be invited to intervene in the dispute was not followed up by management after the site meetings in January, and negotiators are expecting a strong vote among members in support of industrial action.

At the Nottingham site meeting on January 12, the show of hands in favour of a strike ballot was 79 to 0.

Carlton's pay dispute, which does not affect other company sites operated by HTV, Carlton TV in London, and West Country, has been running since the offer was originally tabled in October 2000.