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ITV Unite NUJ

ITV staff vote for strike action rejecting ‘mean’ 2% pay rise

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

January 22, 2015 | 3 min read

A majority of ITV staff have voted for strike action after turning down a "mean" pay rise from the broadcaster.

ITV staff held the ballot after turning down a pay rise of two per cent in December, with the three major unions collectively holding out for an offer of at least 2.75 per cent.

Following the broadcaster increasing its revenues by eight per cent to £1.8bn in the first nine months of 2014, members from the NUJ, Bectu and Unite voted 85 per cent, 86 per cent and 78 per cent in favour of a strike respectively.

Sue Harris, NUJ national broadcasting officer, said: “This resounding yes vote to move to a strike ballot, unless the pay offer is improved, must be taken seriously by the ITV management.

“All three unions are standing shoulder to shoulder and are prepared to act unless their members get the increase they deserve. We are now prepared to go back to the negotiating table and hope the management will see sense and put a proper, decent offer forward and be as generous as they were with the deal given to ITV executives.”

An ITV spokesman said: "We believe that the offer we have made is a fair one, reflecting our current circumstances and is consistent with recent pay awards agreed across the media sector and in UK private sector business. We are obviously disappointed that the joint unions plan to take this course of action, however we are happy to keep lines of communication open.

"ITV continues to make good progress, but our focus on costs remains incredibly important across the business as we balance the the need to continue to invest in growing the business, people and programming.

"We have made a one year pay increase of two per cent effective from 1 January. For those eligible colleagues earning £60,001 or above - unless covered by a collective agreement - the pay review process will be the same as last year, with any increases based on merit and subject to performance. Eligible colleagues will also receive the maximum £1,200 bonus and had an additional day's holiday on 2 January."

The strike action comes after ITV reported pre-tax profits £435m in 2014.

ITV Unite NUJ

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