Carlton TV offers 4% rise

BECTU negotiators have advised members to accept a pay offer from Carlton TV.

A postal ballot on the offer has begun, and is due to close on August 15.

Although the proposed 4% increase, effective from October 1 2002, is significantly higher than inflation, it would be the first pay rise for Carlton's staff for two years.

Last year's advertising downturn, coupled with the economic impact of the September 11 terrorist strikes in the US, led several ITV companies to freeze pay rises and recruitment.

Since the clampdown on wages, BECTU and the NUJ have been pressing the employers to open up pay talks, but struggled to win offers from Carlton and Granada, whose bottom lines were badly affected by the collapse of ITV Digital.

Carlton's offer, which negotiators are recommending to members, came after the unions threatened to run an industrial action ballot.

For Carlton staff earning over £35,000, the percentage tapers down to 2.5%. Between £35,001 and £50,000 the rise is 3.5%, from £50,001 to £100,000 the increase is 3.0%, and any staff earning more than £100,000 will receive only 2.5%.

Most union members,however, will benefit from the full 4.0%, and local talks on conditions of service will continue if the offer is accepted.