BBC workers make a stand on pensions‏

BBC management has been facing the biggest staff revolt in years over proposals to cap final salary pension benefits for existing members from April 2011 and to close the scheme to new employees. Changes proposed in late June include breaking the link between final salary and pension benefits by capping pensionable salary growth at 1% a year, whatever pay increases an employee received.

BBC management said the changes were required to try and tackle a £1.5bn-£2bn pension deficit. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/01/bbc-vote-for-strike-pensions

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of Bectu, said: "This is a significant mandate for strikes, which demonstrates how out of touch BBC executives are with their staff. We hope they will now come up with more realistic proposals, otherwise we will have no alternative but to call industrial action."

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the NUJ, added: "This is an unprecedented result in favour of strike action and a clear rejection of the BBC's proposals. "We have agreed to give the BBC two weeks to come back with an improved offer or face a concerted campaign of industrial action."

The Unite national officer, Peter Skyte, said: "Our members have decisively demonstrated their opposition to the BBC's pensions and pay proposals. The BBC needs to think again about stealing pension benefits already earned and retaining a defined benefit pension scheme in order to regain the trust and support of its workforce for the challenging times that face the organisation in the future."