6th May 2015 14:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Production workers and other staff at ITV PLC have voted to strike in May in a dispute over pay, the BBC reports on Wednesday.
Citing broadcasting union Bectu, the BBC said the 24 hour strike on May 14 could affect live programmes including ITV news bulletins and other programmes.
An ITV spokesman told Alliance News on Wednesday that it's confident its broadcasting will not be affected.
"We are fully prepared to maintain an open dialogue with union representatives following the ballot result today, which has seen 232 union members voting to strike out of a UK workforce of 3,000 employees. We have contingency plans in place to ensure that our programmes will continue to be broadcast and are confident that viewers will be unaffected by the proposed industrial action on May 14," ITV said in a statement.
The union had originally hoped to strike as Britain goes to the polls on May 7, but revised its plans to coincide with ITV's annual meeting, according to the BBC.
The dispute over pay stretches back to December 2014, and Bectu said 67% of its members voted in favour of strike action after ITV offered staff members a 2% pay rise.
"We have made an above inflation one year pay increase of 2%, effective from January 1, which is on top of the 11.5% of pay rises over the last four years, some way ahead of other media sector pay awards. We are also the only UK broadcaster to pay the living wage. Eligible colleagues also received the maximum GBP1,200 bonus in their pay packets in March and we have increased the 2015 bonus opportunity to its maximum GBP1,500 which would be paid next year," said ITV.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32609250
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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