Resources members vote on 2.8% offer

Letter from BECTU to all members in BBC Resources

Dear Colleague

Pay ballot 2004

Following negotiations with Resources management, I am writing to let you know the final offer on pay for 2004. I also enclose a ballot paper, and I would ask you to let us know what you think, by voting either to accept or reject this pay offer. BECTU is not making a recommendation about which way to vote because, while in our view it is the best that can be achieved through negotiation, we do not believe the offer is good enough to recommend acceptance. Neither do we believe that it is so bad that you should reject it. The decision lies in your hands.

You should be clear that management have stated that it is their final offer, and that means that if it is rejected through the ballot, my next letter to you will contain a ballot paper for industrial action. The details of the offer are given below:

At the conclusion of the negotiations the pay rise offered was 2.8% (this is equal to the RPI figure published in January). This would be applied to all pay related allowances, including UPA, Night Pay, Overtime and WOODS Payments. Christmas Day and Boxing Day Payments will be rounded up to £100, which is an increase of 4.5%. The 2.8% figure will also be applied to those on Special Fixed Salaries (details below). You will remember that initially we had sought a pay rise of 5%, and whilst it would be unprecedented to achieve the starting figure in negotiations, the fact that the offer is below the BBC pay rise of 3.6% from August of last year is the main reason we are not recommending acceptance.

Although the original claim on London Weighting was for £4,000 over three years, the company have rejected this as too costly but have applied more than the general increase, which means for those on less than £22,000 London Weighting will rise to £3,450 and for those on £22,000 and above London Weighting will go up to £3,090, in both cases a rise of 3.4%.

In what must be seen as a victory, management have been forced to include in the offer something for those people on Special Fixed Salaries (SFS). Last year all of our members on SFS contracts were excluded from the pay talks, and as a consequence significant numbers did not receive the same increase as the rest of the staff. We were determined that they should be included this year, and we believe that we have largely succeeded. Management have stated that all of those who "re-negotiate" their SFS contract in April will receive 2.8%, and anyone who has already "re-negotiated" their contract will receive at least 2.8%. Any other staff on an SFS contract with an anniversary date later in the year will also receive not less than 2.8%. So, although management still say that staff on an SFS contract are excluded from collective bargaining, it cannot be a coincidence that their pay rise will be the same as everyone else's!

As part of this year's pay claim (and last year's as well) we have also been trying to improve the position of the Trainees. In another concession, management now say that if this offer is accepted all existing and new Trainees will be placed on staff contracts, not a two-year fixed term contract. This is good news, and helps to secure their position. New Trainees will be on probation for the first 12 months and will also be subject to formal assessments. Nonetheless, they will be permanently employed. We were unable to achieve their transfer onto the standard terms and conditions from day one, but management accepted that at the end of the second year Trainees should move into full craft roles, with the appropriate salary and the standard terms and conditions.

The management rejected the claim for the reintroduction of Penalty Payments, because they said that imposing any financial penalty upon customers would drive away work. However, they are prepared to talk to the unions within Studios and Post Production where there are scheduling problems.

There are two other issues which should be mentioned. Firstly, the management have agreed to further talks about agreeing a rate for the job, and have accepted that the levels of salary currently paid to long serving employees must be a significant factor in those talks. Secondly, they have also agreed to discussions on the syllabus for Trainees and how that should be formalised and funded.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is a considerable amount of detail in the offer, with good points as well as bad. Whilst your negotiating team felt that the inclusion of SFS contracts in the collective negotiations and improving the position of Trainees were positive factors, these were balanced by the headline figure of 2.8%. That is the reason why we are not making a recommendation about which way to vote.

It is important that you vote, and that you understand the consequences of voting. If you vote YES, the package will be implemented on 1st April. If you vote NO, the management have said it is their final offer, and that will mean BECTU will be balloting you for industrial action, and if you vote to reject the offer you must be prepared to vote YES to industrial action.

Please ensure your completed ballot paper is returned to BECTU Head Office no later than Friday 5th March at 12 noon.

This letter has been sent to you because our records show you to be an employee of BBC Resources Limited. If this is not the case, please email lmiles@bectu.org.uk and let us know.

Further details are on the BECTU website at www.bectubbc.org.uk

Yours sincerely,
Luke Crawley
Supervisory Official

Letter from BECTU to BBC management: BBC Resources Pay Claim 2004

17 November 2003

I am writing on behalf of the joint unions to give you an outline of our pay claim for 2004. This letter will necessarily be brief and we would hope to meet with the company in the near future to develop the arguments in support of our claim. As in 2003 we intend to secure a pay rise for all our members working for Resources Limited including those on SFS contracts and trainees. [The inclusion of SFS contracts was not discussed in detail at the SDC but is in line with last year's claim and is part of our policy to try and get SFS contracts back into the collective bargaining arena]

We believe that the general increase needs to reflect the fact that the recent BBC pay rise was 3.6% and that pension contributions will be going up next year. In order to ensure that our members do not lose out we are seeking a pay rise of 5%. This would be applied to all flat rate and T-related payments including night payments, Christmas Day and New Year payments, WOODs, the floors and roofs of the salary bands and any other payments. We would not expect any change in the hours for which night payments are made.

The level of London Weighting continues to cause problems for those of our members who work in London and we believe that it could be resolved by an agreement to increase it £4,000 by April 1st 2006. We would like to discuss with you the most equitable way of achieving this goal. [I understand the intention is to claim the same as the public sector unions which is £4000. For clarity that would mean an increase from £3367 (was £3250) for those on less than £22000 and from £3107 (was £2912) for those on £22,000 and over).]

As you are aware the staff currently on SFS contracts are excluded from collective negotiations on pay. This position is unacceptable to the unions and in the light of recent decision in the European courts it is also illegal. Accordingly we are claiming that all staff employed by Resources Limited should be covered by the collective negotiations over annual pay and any increase we negotiate should also be applied to them. [This was not discussed in this detail at the Ventures SDC but after talking to the chair it was agreed that it should go in].

In order to address the increasing problem of unscheduled overruns we would also seek the re-instatement of a penalty payment. We believe that it should be paid at the rate of an additional 1T in addition, for all staff working on the production.

Finally as you will recall the unions do not accept that the appropriate rate for the job is 115% of the floor of the grade of the job. We would like to open discussions to achieve what we regard as the rate for the job which would more accurately reflect what is actually paid to staff working in the appropriate grade. Any new structure would be applied to all staff.

I look forward to meeting you so we can set out our case in greater detail.

Luke Crawley
Supervisory Official

Letter from BECTU to members in BBC Resources: Pay 2004 bargaining report

7 January 2004

Dear Colleague

BBC Resources Ltd pay claim 2004

You will know by now that we have had the first meeting with management to discuss the pay claim for 2004. A further meeting is in the diary for Monday 12th January and I am writing to you to set out some of the thinking behind the pay claim and management's initial response.

The headline figure of 5% is because we know the settlement in the rest of the BBC was 3.6% from last August and without a corresponding increase you will be falling behind. We also believe that there needs to be an increase beyond 3.6% because Resources Limited is a profitable company and the profits should be shared amongst those who do the work. There is the further issue that pension contributions will be going up by 0.5% this year. Management's offer at the meeting was the RPI figure from either December or January.

Equally important is the point that we expect any rise to apply to all staff employed by Resources Limited including those on Special Fixed Salary (SFS) or buyout contracts, and trainees. You will remember that last year management refused to increase the salaries of those on SFS contracts because they are excluded from collective negotiations on pay. This exclusion is unacceptable to BECTU and, in the light of a recent decision in the European Courts, it is also illegal. This year we have made it central to our claim and pointed out that all of our members will be voting on whether to accept or reject the final offer, and if a significant proportion are excluded from the offer then they are very likely to vote against acceptance. As a result management are considering carefully how best to respond to this aspect of the claim.

We have also claimed for a significant increase in London Weighting (LW) to £4000 but, recognising that this would be a very steep rise in costs, have sought to achieve this over three years. Those of you living or working in London will be only too keenly aware of the rise in the cost of living in London. We are also linking this aspect of our claim to a general campaign by other trade unions in London to try and achieve the same figure. Management are only prepared to increase LW by the same figure as the general increase, whatever that may be.

Unscheduled overruns are becoming an increasing problem and in order to try and curb this we believe it would. be appropriate to charge programmes who cannot keep to their booked time and then pass it on to those staff who have to work the overrun. We believe that it should be paid at the rate of an additional 1T. Management do not like the concept of payments for overruns but have not rejected the proposal.

Our final point concerns an attempt to achieve a rate for the job that bears a close relationship to what is paid to staff who have been working here for many years. In 2001, as part of the pay settlement, we agreed to discuss a new pay structure under which management proposed bronze, silver and gold salary levels. It seems unlikely now that those talks will be re-convened but one reason for their failure to progress was that the proposed rate for the job for new recruits (not trainees) was unacceptably low at 115% of the floor of the grade of the job. We would like to open discussions to achieve what we regard as an acceptable rate for the job which would be closer to the actual salary levels of staff currently employed. Any new structure would be applied to all staff. Management are prepared to enter discussions on this point which would take place outside of the pay talks. Trainees are currently dealt with under a separate salary structure and we would be looking to try and bring them in to any new proposal.

At the meeting on 12th January we are expecting a response on all points and either then, or at another meeting in the diary later in the month, we are expecting the final offer to be tabled. At that point we will be balloting all our members in Resources and it is important that you vote. It is worth stressing again the importance of including everyone in any pay settlement as otherwise Resources Limited will have effectively de-recognised BECTU for all those on SFS contracts. All BECTU members employed by Resources must be covered by the same collective agreement - united we stand, divided we fall.

According to our records you are an employee of Resources Ltd, if that is not the case please can you email lmiles@bectu.org.uk and let us know. If you know of other BECTU members employed by Resources Limited who have not received this letter can you ask them to email us with their details.

Luke Crawley

Letter from BBC to BECTU: Resources pay 2004 offer

January 27 2004

Mr Luke Crawley
National Officer
BECTU
373-377 Clapham Road
LONDON SW9 9BT

Dear Luke

BBC Resources Ltd Pay Settlement April 2004/05

We continued our discussions on negotiating the pay settlement for BBC Resources Ltd on January 27th 2004. The BECTU team, led by yourself, were represented by Tony Lennon, Tony Scott, John Howcroft, Sean Kelly and Colin Doogan. Steve Pinder represented AMICUS. BBC Resources Ltd was represented by Mike Southgate, Stephen Killick, Paul Brereton and myself. Apologies were noted from Henry Gibson.

Subject to agreeing a mutual understanding of these proposals, you indicated that you will put out a neutral ballot to your members i.e. a ballot recommendation that neither recommends rejection or acceptance. You explained your reasons for doing this linked to the responses presented on the overall headline percentage increase rate and the way SFS rates are excluded from collective recognition.

Full minutes will be issued shortly. However, as requested, here is detail of the package you requested in order to commence your consultation process.

BBC Resources Pay Settlement April 2004

The proposed pay settlement this year is made up of six component elements and is presented as a total package.

1. General Pay Standard Increase

With effect from April 1st 2004, the following elements will be increased by 2.8%:-

• All current salary ranges
• All associated payments such as Unpredictability Allowances, Night Pay, Overtime, WOODs payments and other allowances
• Christmas Day & Boxing Day payments will increase to £98.32
• Year 1 Trainee salary level will increase to £15,606 g.p.a.
• Year 2 Trainee salary level will increase to £16,975 g.p.a.
• Minimum Entry Point salary level will increase to £12,175 g.p.a.

2. London Weighting

London Weighting will be increased to:-

• For salaries of less than £22k, a revised London Weighting of £3,450 g.p.a. will be applied;
• For salaries of £22k and above, a revised London Weighting of £3,090 g.p.a. will be applied.

3. SFS Arrangements

Staff engaged on SFS arrangements will continue to be treated on an individual basis outside of the collective framework on pay bargaining only. All other collective rights remain unchanged.

In view of the volume and utilisation requirements for 2004/05, we expect to see individual SFS rates increase by not less than 2.8% over the year. This is co-incidental and is not linked to the pay settlement afforded to the rest of the company.

Some individuals have already re-negotiated their SFS rate for 2004/05. We agreed, therefore that if necessary, we will make an adjustment in April so that those staff will also receive an increase of not less than the December RPI figure of 2.8%.

Staff on SFS arrangements will continue to have their annual package reviewed on the anniversary date of moving to an SFS arrangement.

(Currently within Outside Broadcasts there are 106 contracts which fall for review at the beginning of April. This represents 82% of the total SFS community within Outside Broadcasts).

4. Over-run Penalty Arrangements

We have rejected the proposals to look at some form of financial penalty for customers who over-run when using our facilities.

However, we did acknowledge that there are the occasional scheduling hot spots, particularly relating to pilots in the Studio, and have therefore agreed to undertake a review within Studios and Post Production that will identify the situations, and genres where this is most likely to occur and consider whether there are alternative scheduling options available. It was emphasised that there was unlikely to be a solution for Post Production, but nevertheless the issues should be considered.

We will confirm how the process will be managed and who will be involved over the next few weeks.

5. Rate for the Job

The revised terms of reference are:-

Both sides commit to discussions which are aimed at achieving a clearly defined rate for the job and a means of progressing to that rate over a defined period. Reference will be made to the business, economic ad market place factors which affect BBC Resources Ltd, the BBC itself and other appropriate subsidiaries; the context of the facilities industry; the changing skills mix needed by the company and the current rate paid to fully competent employees within BBC Resources Ltd.

A Joint Working party with 3(tbc) company representatives and 3(tbc) BECTU/AMICUS representatives will work to produce recommendations. Proposals will be presented to Mike Southgate & Luke Crawley by (date).

6. Trainees

This element of the package has 3 key features:-

Current Trainees

• All current trainees are offered pensionable, continuing contracts with effect from April 1st 2004. These staff will retain the conditions of service arrangements associated with trainees;
• On transferring to full craft roles on completion of their traineeship, staff will move on to the prevailing conditions of service and the appropriate salary associated with their operational roles at that time.

Future Trainees

• All future trainees will be offered a continuing contract upon joining BBC Resources. For a period of two years, trainees will undergo regular and robust formal assessments at periodic intervals to ensure that they are achieving the required standard necessary to become fully competent within their craft field;
• All new trainee contracts will have a 12 month probationary period whereby trainees who are not achieving the required levels of competence within their craft field will be released. Details of how this process will be managed will be confirmed as part of the Training & Performance Management Review;
• If at the end of the two year period, there is no continuing requirement for the staff or if there is a significant change to the business (either economically or organisationally), then we would enter into discussions with BECTU on appropriate exit arrangements.

Training & Performance Management

• Paul Brereton will chair a joint working group that will look to review and refresh the training syllabus associated with operational trainees within the company. BECTU will have the opportunity to re-table their training syllabus proposals. This review will also look to recommend the performance management model against which trainees will be assessed and the funding arrangements to undertake the suggested syllabus.

The strands contained within this letter are presented as a package to provide a settlement for the 2004/05 Pay Review. Any significant change to one or more of these proposals will result in this offer being withdrawn.

I trust this represents an accurate summary of the discussions. Please let me know if there is anything else you wish to add. I will also send a copy to Chris Jones at AMICUS.

If I can be of any further help, please let me know.

Yours sincerely
Kate Horton
HR Partner