News round4% at Macmillan The joint NUJ/Unite chapel at Macmillan has accepted a pay offer of 4% across the board together with beneficial changes to company contributions to the money purchase pension scheme.
Employee and employer pension contributions were calculated on “pensionable salary” – that is, basic salary at 1st March, less 1.5 times the basic State Pension. This means that approximately £6,400 is deducted from an individual’s salary before contributions are worked out. It is an historical hangover from the rules of the old Final Salary Scheme but the increasing effect, over the past few years, has been to disadvantage staff, and in particular those on low salaries.
Under the new system, employee and employer money purchase contributions will be calculated on total basic salary, without any deductions, thus significantly increasing the accrual of pension funds. Those who do not wish to pay more, will retain the option to pay contributions based only on pensionable salary (and of course the employer contributions will also be based on that amount).
The joint NUJ/Unite chapel at Macmillan has accepted a pay offer of 4% across the board together with beneficial changes to company contributions to the money purchase pension scheme.
Employee and employer pension contributions were calculated on “pensionable salary” – that is, basic salary at 1st March, less 1.5 times the basic State Pension. This means that approximately £6,400 is deducted from an individual’s salary before contributions are worked out. It is an historical hangover from the rules of the old Final Salary Scheme but the increasing effect, over the past few years, has been to disadvantage staff, and in particular those on low salaries.
Under the new system, employee and employer money purchase contributions will be calculated on total basic salary, without any deductions, thus significantly increasing the accrual of pension funds. Those who do not wish to pay more, will retain the option to pay contributions based only on pensionable salary (and of course the employer contributions will also be based on that amount).
The chapel accepted the package with the rider that further progress be made on issues of flexible working hours and pay transparency – two issues that top the chapel’s priority list, and on which some progress finally started to be made at the end of last year.
Last minute talks avert BBC strike
Ballot papers that were expected to give a strong mandate for strike action at the BBC have remained unopened after management requested last minute talks.
Seven consecutive meetings, the last one stretching on for 19 hours, resulted in a possible deal which addresses all the issues in dispute and will now be put to a consultative ballot of all members.
The dispute was triggered by the decision to begin selecting staff for compulsory redundancy, but it also covered proposals to change pension arrangements and to withhold unpredictability allowance from newly employed journalists.
Love-in at Pearson Education?
The chapel at Pearson Education (formerly Harcourt) will be meeting the day before
St Valentine’s Day to finalise the draft of the recognition agreement that management asked the NUJ to prepare.
Could this lead to a love affair between the NUJ and the new employers at this 600-strong Summertown-based company? We hope not, but a stable and constructive relationship based on mutual respect would be nice.
AW 2008-02-04
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