A bird in the hand

Yesterday was busy. A personal case in the morning, followed by a members meeting at ITN. There is an annual ritual at ITN that involves the company proposing horrible things just before Christmas, usually ensuring an anxious time for members with honours even at the end. This time there was a twist; yes deadly things are planned - working all the weekends, abolishing the meal allowance for staff on the road, you know the sort of thing. What was unusual was that they offered a two year deal. Year one - pay rise for all of 4.3%. Year two, inflation, providing the Unions enter talks over said horrible nasties, thereby postponing any potential conflict till April of next year. In the scheme of things, grief tomorrow is generally better than pain today. The members voted to accept. This was followed by negotiations with the NUJ over our staff pension. Talks continue, happy Christmas.