BBC settles pension dispute with unions

The BBC pensions dispute has come to an end after the National Union of Journalists accepted an agreement brokered by mediation service ACAS.

NUJ representatives yesterday voted to endorse a deal that will see the career-average benefit (CAB) pension - based on an employee's average salary over their entire career - uprated by up to 4% each year, rather than the previous offer of 2.5%.

However, the union said that the position would be reviewed after the actual scale of the BBC's pension scheme deficit is disclosed next spring. The NUJ will call for fresh talks if the deficit proves to be less than £1.5 billion.

NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "In light of the significant concessions the BBC has made in recent negotiations, including agreeing to delay the implementation of any changes until after the full scheme valuation is agreed and the real size of the deficit is known, reps have today endorsed the agreement reached at ACAS.

"Reps will review the position once the actual deficit is published - and further action cannot be ruled out in the event that the deficit is lower than predicted."

A BBC spokesperson added: "We are very happy that the pensions reform consultation has been concluded and that this has been achieved without costing the BBC anything more."

The agreement brings to an end five months of dispute over proposed changes to the BBC's final salary pension scheme, including a 48-hour walkout by NUJ members last month.

Four other unions that represent BBC staff, including Bectu and Unite, have already accepted the corporation's final offer on pensions.

The NUJ said that it would have been "much, much better" for the BBC to wait until the full extent of its deficit was known to create a viable long-term solution.

The union also expressed its "ongoing disgust with the BBC's plans to circumvent and undermine the role of the [pension] trustees and treat with contempt the protections afforded to scheme members under the current scheme rules".