BBC Resources pay talks start

BECTU have announced that they have begun talks on possible changes to the BBC Resources pay system.
Negotiations between BECTU and BBC Resources management are expected to last 12 months, with a target of April 2003 for the introduction of any changes.
BECTU Representatives have emphasised that the discussions are at an extremely early stage, and that any proposals could change dramatically over the period of the talks.
Management have outlined some broad ideas, which represent a break from overall BBC agreements.
The talks result from the pay and conditions ballot held last July in BBC Resources, which included long-term negotiations on introducing a new pay system intended to: Link employee pay to company performance; Reward, retain, and attract key skills and talent and control paybill costs and ensure an appropriate level of variable cost.
At the initial meeting in BBC Resources management outlined to BECTU representatives a possible model for a future pay system in Resources.
They said Resources had an ageing workforce, with long average service and low staff turnover compared to many other areas of the BBC, which had resulted in a high staff pay bill compared to overall expenditure in Resources and that this bill suffered from higher inflation than other areas due to low staff turnover.
They emphasised that they did not want to inflate the pay bill as result of these talks and they did not have large amount of money to bring to the table.
Management expressed their wish to deliver a 'behavioural and cultural change' from what they saw as the current emphasis on time worked to performance.
They said that until now pay had been used to control managerial behaviour in such areas as scheduling - they now wished to use 'managerial judgement in the future'.
BBC members are encouraged to provide an initial response to the union before the next meeting with management, which is expected to be held in the last week of February.
(GB)