A petition signed by around 1,100 BBC staff has demanded showdown talks with the Corporation’s pension bosses, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The “unprecedented” move will force pension fund trustees to face employees in an extraordinary meeting next month. Staff are at war with BBC management over proposed pension cutbacks and are said to be “angry” over the inert response by trustees expected to champion the cause.

The BBC wants to close its staff defined benefit pension scheme to new joiners and cap contributions of existing members to just a one per cent increase per year from next April – a move that unions have called “pension robbery”.

“This is another prong to the campaign to force the BBC to back off from these pension cuts,” said one BBC member of the National Union of Journalists, which is also balloting its members for strike action over the changes. “It’ll be a real spanner in the BBC’s works.”

The resolution before the meeting will state: “This meeting of the members of the BBC pension scheme calls on the trustees to perform their duties to protect the benefits of the members. Specifically we call on them to oppose the BBC’s plans to reduce the value of contributions already made to the scheme.”

The NUJ is also threatening to take trustees to court over the issue.

(Source: Daily Telegraph)

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