ITV Pensions Plan Sparks Strike Threat

Unions are threatening to take industrial action at ITV over proposals to close the company's final salaries pension scheme.
The three main ITV unions, Bectu, NUJ, and Amicus have promised to call a strike ballot if ITV closes its final salary pension scheme and transfer staff to a less generous "career average" scheme.
Management hope to introduce pension changes from April 2007, and any union industrial action would take place in the New Year.
The unions said that ITV wished to look at changes to its pension scheme including; replacing the final salary scheme with a career average scheme; changing the accrual rate from 50ths to 60ths; harmonising the retirement age at 63 (some staff have a retirement age of 60 and others 65, as a result of numerous ITV mergers); and, finally, increasing members' contributions.
Unions were told that the motive for cuts in pension benefits was that ITV wanted to reduce its employers' contribution, which currently averages at 28%, by as much as 10% of payroll costs.
Bectu Assistant General Secretary Gerry Morrissey said: "When our representatives met yesterday, they were extremely angry the company had decided to make such savage changes to their pension arrangements at a time when the company's profits are up and after a significant period of job-shedding through redundancies and outsourcing.
"We are prepared to enter into meaningful negotiations with ITV, but we will not rubber-stamp its pension proposals and significantly worsen our members' employment package. We hope ITV will reflect on its proposals. However, if they persist, we will not be afraid to call our members out on strike."
ITV's move to reduce pension benefits follows on from a similar proposal under discussion between the unions and ITN, the network's news provider.
(SP)