SEVENTY per cent of NUJ members at the BBC have rejected its latest pension proposals, in a ballot result which means plans for a series of strikes and other industrial action are going ahead, with the threat of a Christmas walkout on the cards.
NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, said on Friday October 29:
“This massive vote against the BBC’s latest proposal comes as no surprise, given the fundamental ‘pay more – work longer – get less’ nature of the offer. NUJ members across the BBC have consistently dubbed the proposals a ‘pensions robbery’. That hasn’t changed.”
And he added:
“BBC journalists are not asking for higher pensions. They are not even saying they wouldn’t consider paying more or working longer for a fair pension settlement.
“That means a deal based on the real deficit in the scheme, not speculative and questionable figures. It means a pension which does not lose a significant part of its value every single year for the rest of their lives – which is what will happen under the current proposals. And it should be a deal that means what has been promised to them – which they have already paid for – is protected.
“The current offer fails those tests and it fails BBC staff.
“That’s why they’ve been left with no choice but to take industrial action on November 5 and 6Â and November 15 and 16. They can’t afford not to.”
We’ll be posting latest news of meetings and action in and around Bristol, and contacting members with ways they can support their colleagues. For further details, visit the national NUJ website.
