BBC and unions turn to ACAS in pension row

The two sides in the BBC pension dispute are to hold talks at conciliation service Acas to resolve a final point of clarification.

Members of the National Union of Journalists went on strike earlier this month in protest at changes to their pension scheme, but called off a further walkout after making progress during negotiations with management.

Lucy Adams, director of BBC people, sent an email to staff today which said: "We have met regularly with the joint unions over the last two weeks and we are pleased that we have reached agreement and understanding with them on almost all the points on which they had asked for clarity.

"We are continuing to talk and have agreed with the joint unions to use the support of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to help resolve the final point of clarification.

"We have confirmed with the joint unions that we will be using Acas services to find a form of words to help clarify a specific issue and we are not going to be re-opening negotiations on any of our final proposals."