The trading performance of our members varies considerably. This polarisation of fortunes is characterised by considerable differences in pay settlements made over the past 12 months, and the 12 months before that. We have also had a high incidence of pay freezes over the same period and some pay cuts. From necessity and the belief that it is the right way forward, our members are talking to their staff locally about their business, their challenges and opportunities and their future.

After two rounds of online consultation, only 7% of our members told us they want us to seek a national settlement on wages. So it is clear there is insufficient support among our membership for any national negotiations. Three years on
from the last pay settlement concluded at national level, our members are now used to determining terms and conditions at local level in ways that enable them to meet their circumstances and needs.  

Our industry is experiencing a period of unprecedented change and severe trading difficulties. Business conditions
are highly uncertain and companies find it increasingly difficult to plan long-term with confidence. Although these difficulties have been accentuated by the recent recession, there will be no respite in the foreseeable future. The issues facing our industry going forward are structural rather than short-term, and companies will need to radically restructure their operations to survive. There are many challenges facing our industry as it adapts to the fast-changing needs of its customer base, including the growth of e-media, that we feel can be better addressed at local level.

Many print companies are re-engineering their businesses to deliver the multichannel services customers now expect and it’s clear the printing industry of tomorrow will be very different. As the nature of the work changes, so will working practices, skills, terms and conditions. Individual companies need to be free to agree with their staff how together they best respond to these challenges to build a future for their enterprise.

Steve Sibbald has called for trade unions and industry to work together to ensure that companies and employees
prosper through growth. Although realising this aspiration will prove challenging in the present climate, we would agree with him. While we may indeed have reached the end of the road with national pay bargaining, none of us want to lose
the benefits of our partnership agreement. We have therefore said to Unite that, subject to the approval of our National Council, we will work with them in reviewing the scope for preserving those elements that have served our respective members well to date and which could continue to be of mutual benefit in the future.

Rupert Middleton is president of the BPIF