The BBC and the unions operating within the company have reached an agreement regarding the pay levels of the public broadcaster's employees. The pay increase plan provides that the minimum salary will be GBP 20,000 a year. How will employees react to these changes?
Negotiations conducted by decision-makers at the BBC together with the unions operating inside the company lasted as long as 21 months. After nearly two years, an agreement was reached regarding pay increases for employees at the British broadcaster.
The increase in minimum pay is not the only change. A rise in pay during maternity or caregiving leave has also been provided for. As it turns out, employees will receive 100 percent of their salary for a longer period.
The previous minimum wage
The changes are to cover all of the company's employees, including journalists, technicians, as well as those employed in office departments. According to the latest arrangements, over three years the minimum salary at the BBC will rise from GBP 15,600 to GBP 20,000 a year.
Employee vote
The unions operating at the BBC have informed the company's employees about the planned changes. Each of those employed will also have the opportunity to express their opinion on the plan. From 21 May to 8 June a vote will be held, which will make it possible to determine the level of support.
Fighting discrimination
As a BBC spokesperson said in one of the statements, the agreement reached is part of the company's modernisation in the spirit of caring for employee satisfaction and equalising differences in their pay. The statement referred to ongoing allegations regarding pay gaps discriminating, among others, against women employed at the BBC.
It is worth recalling that in January 2018 Carrie Gracie resigned from her position as editor in protest. After that event, several well-known BBC journalists also agreed to cuts in their pay. However, the broadcaster rejected this type of allegation, claiming that the problem of gender-based pay differences at the BBC did not exist.
