Scottish Media pay rise goes to vote

BECTU and NUJ members in Scottish Media Group are due to ballot on an improved three-year pay offer from the company.

The unions have agreed to withdraw notice of industrial action over pay on May 7, in response to the new deal covering staff at Scottish and Grampian TV.

Negotiators will be recommending that members should accept the offer when the postal ballot begins on May 6.

In a previous strike ballot, which closed on April 15, members voted for action against an earlier 3% offer by majorities of 77% in Scottish, and 60% in Grampian. The offer itself was rejected by 90% of voters.

Under the new deal, pay goes up by 3% this year, and then by inflation plus 1% in 2006, and inflation plus 0.5% in 2007. The company also agreed to limit performance-related pay to 15% of the total cash available for a pay rise in 2006 and 10% in 2007.

A controversial plan to freeze some staff salaries with the introduction of a completely new pay system in January 2006 has been dropped by management.

There had been a plan to "red circle" any current salaries that fell outside the pay bands contained in the new system, leaving staff on standstill pay rates, waiting potentially for some years while the bands "caught up" with them through future pay increases.

However, because details of the new system will not be known until October this year, the management could not estimate how many staff would be affected by "red circling", and the unions raised objections.

Worries about the issue were underpinned by memories of the last restructuring of the company's pay system in 2000, when dozens of staff were caught out by "red circling".

Union officials believe that the improvements SMG was willing to make to the offer rejected on April 15 were motivated by company concerns about industrial action, and have thanked members for their solidarity.

The ballot is expected to end roughly two weeks after papers are sent out.