Unions Set To Address Pension Scheme Changes With ITV

Bectu, Amicus, and NUJ, have tabled concessions over pension scheme changes in a bid to resolve a potential dispute.
ITV has been in discussion with the unions over cuts in pension benefits for staff, aimed at saving £10 million a year on the company's payments into the scheme.
The proposals included an increase in employee contributions to 7% of salary, retirement at 63 instead, and a reduction in the rate at which pension entitlement builds up each year.
ITV also proposed that pensions would be based on the average salary that staff earn during their career, rather than their final salary at the point of retirement.
In a counter-proposal tabled this week, the unions have said that, provided the company withdrew the plan for career-average pensions, they would be willing to accept increase in retirement ages and staff contributions to the scheme, along with a reduced accrual rate.
Officials are now waiting for ITV to respond, most likely on February 10, when a formal consultation over the company's original proposals will close.
Unions say staff at ITV have gone through several rounds of redundancies in recent years, and had to accept a pay rise below inflation in January 2007.
(DS/SP)