TALKS RESUME ON BBC RESOURCES DISPUTE

NEW discussions are underway on one of the issues that led to an ongoing industrial action in BBC Resources.
Proposals to resolve a disagreement over payments to staff while they cover more senior posts have been tabled by BBC London Operations, part of BBC Resources Ltd which includes TV Studios, Post-Production, and Outside Broadcasts.
At a meeting on April 3, management of the department put forward plans to create several new supervisory posts, which would help to reduce the number of ad hoc ‘acting’ turns undertaken by junior staff.
Management also tabled a proposal for fixed numbers of staff to receive long-term payments as a reward for taking on acting roles for periods longer than six months.
BECTU are now considering the offer, and plans to respond to London Operations within the next month, after consulting with members.
The new offer dealt with just one aspect of a reorganisation and job cuts package which prompted a work-to-rule that has been running continuously since March 5, when new contracts were imposed on staff in the area.
Under the new contract terms, staff were no longer eligible for daily acting payments whenever they filled in for supervisors. Union negotiators at the meeting said it was ‘possible’ that the acting pay issue could be separated from other aspects of the dispute if management made an acceptable offer.
Members involved in the work-to-rule are also said to be challenging the abolition of premium payments for days over 12 hours, or breaks less than 11, and punitive changes in the calculation of travel payments for staff on location. A number of compulsory redundancies are also said to be in dispute. Only days before the meeting, nearly 170 staff left - all but a handful were volunteers.
The original reorganisation proposals led to a one-day strike on December 3 2000, after which management tabled a compromise peace offer containing several improvements. However, members rejected the modified proposals in late-January by a majority of 85 per cent.
London Operations' decision to re-open discussions on acting payments has been seen as a positive step by union representatives, although there is no sign yet of any conciliatory move from management on the other issues involved in the dispute.
Negotiators believe that the work-to-rule is set to continue, whether or not the new proposals on acting pay lead to a partial settlement of the dispute. (CD)