Scottish Media facing strike ballot

Members working in Scottish and Grampian TV could take industrial action in support of a pay claim.

Ballot papers are due to be sent out after members voted to reject a 3% offer by a margin of almost ten to one. Union efforts, after the ballot was announced, to open compromise talks with Scottish Media Group (SMG), owner of the two stations, were unsuccessful.

SMG was today, March 18, given the legally-required 7-days' notice of an industrial action ballot - voting will start on March 29, and ends on April 15. Negotiators are urging members to vote in favour of action, as the only way of preventing yet another effective pay cut at the company.

Pay talks began in October 2004, when unions tabled a claim for a three-year deal, beginning with a 7% rise, and RPI+1% in the subsequent two years.

No meetings with SMG took place until December 4 2004, when a one-year offer of 3% was tabled by management. Negotiators argued that staff had put up with a succession of pay settlements below inflation, and pointed out that company executives had in most cases been given rises of 11-22%, with bonuses on top.

SMG had enjoyed an upturn in advertising revenue, and the below-inflation offer contradicted the company's stated aim of making SMG "a great place to work".

However, SMG refused to budge, despite an offer from negotiators to recommend a one-year deal to members if management would increase the offer to 4%.

Management offered to pay the 3% increase in January 2005, the pay anniversary date, as an "interim payment" while negotiations continued - a move that negotiators warned would inflame feelings in the workforce.

In talks following the ballots being announced, company managers simply re-tabled the offer without improvements, and negotiators said they had not choice but to run an industrial action ballot.

Since the initial pay talks, SMG has released interim finance figures for 2004, showing a total operating profit of £29.3 million on £201 million turnover.