Bbc Staff Vote To Strike Over Pensions

[Injin]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7975677/BBC-staff-vote-to-strike-over-pensions.html

Members of the National Union of Journalists and Bectu, the technicians' union, backed walkouts by more than 9-1 in protest at "punitive" changes to the staff pension scheme.

Talks will be held over the next two weeks to try and resolve the dispute and avert strikes.

The threat of strikes follows a BBC announcement of plans to cap pensionable pay at one per cent from next April and revalue pensions at a lower level, which unions said effectively devalued pensions already earned.

BBC management said the changes were needed to try to tackle a huge pension deficit of more than £1.5 billion.

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of Bectu, said: "This is a significant mandate for strikes, which demonstrates how out of touch BBC executives are with their staff. We hope they will now come up with more realistic proposals, otherwise we will have no alternative but to call industrial action."

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the NUJ, said: "This is an unprecedented result in favour of strike action and a clear rejection of the BBC's proposals.

"We have agreed to give the BBC two weeks to come back with an improved offer or face a concerted campaign of industrial action."

The NUJ circulated a leaflet to members headed "pensions robbery" and said staff were angry, warning the changes would signal the end of the "special relationship" they had with the corporation.

The leaflet said: "A massive yes vote in the ballot will leave the BBC with no choice - they are going to have to revise their plans or face co-ordinated and determined industrial action by all the BBC unions."

Unions said they wanted the BBC to come back to the negotiating table with a better offer that protected the value of pensions already earned.

[hilltop]

About time that employees stood up to managerial dictat.

Note that the main aim is to protect the value of pensions already earned.

The management must keep their sticky fingers off money which should have been set aside to meet the liabilities.

[PhoneyMcRingRing]

OMG I hope this does not affect the property show repeats on daytime BBC!

[DisQ]

fat cats

sack the lot

abolish the licence fee, job done

[EUBanana]

off money which should have been set aside to meet the liabilities.

Unfortunately the public sector never does that. For anybody.

Well, except the elites. I would hazard Neil Kinnocks pensions are not in dnger.

[Take Me Back To London!]

OMG I hope this does not affect the property show repeats on daytime BBC!

And what about the dreaded T.V. detector van, that even in the 1970s could track down to an accuracy of feet and inches, if you were watching Columbo without a T.V. licence.

[interestrateripoff]

Promise yourself a huge pension, save inadequately for it and then strike to get your pension you've failed to save for.

[MrPin]

I can't see the problem! If they took the job on one set of conditions, and they have been arbitrarily changed to their disadvantage,

then they have a reasonable beef!

Hope the Archers continues!

[sbn]

I, for one, would be more than happy to strile over their pensions

who do I strike?

[SarahBell]

OMG I hope this does not affect the property show repeats on daytime BBC!

+1.

Although BBC will be at Edward Mellor's next auction (7th Sept I think)

[concerned_money]

A heart warming folk song about the UK tv licence

[Authoritarian]

About time that employees stood up to managerial dictat.

Note that the main aim is to protect the value of pensions already earned.

The management must keep their sticky fingers off money which should have been set aside to meet the liabilities.

Perhaps the licence fee paying public could also hold a ballot to decide whether they're happy making up the shortfall.

[200p]

Maybe they shouldn't have spunked £10-20m on that general election studio.

[Guest spp]

What Pensions??

[Bloo Loo]

I feel another classic series coming up....The Blood of the Stone. a 40 year series of underpayment and deceipt.

[hedgefunded]

As a BBC employee made redundant in 2008, having paid into the staff pension scheme for 23 years, this rather worries me.

I was expecting £23k/year (rising in line with inflation or something) and I'll be pretty damned livid if I don't get it. I turned down more than one job offer because the BBC pension scheme was so good.

[Si1]

As a BBC employee made redundant in 2008, having paid into the staff pension scheme for 23 years, this rather worries me.

I was expecting £23k/year (rising in line with inflation or something) and I'll be pretty damned livid if I don't get it. I turned down more than one job offer because the BBC pension scheme was so good.

damn those taxpayers-yet-to-be-born in the 1980s - now they have the vote they're not prepared to honour the contract you signed on their behalf to give you their money! pesky kids!