Westminster blog

I was surprised to see the GMB union describing as “total bollocks” my scoop this morning.

The story revealed talks between Corus and union officials over a possible 10 per cent pay cut for the steel group’s 25,000 workers. It’s interesting because this is the kind of idea which could be followed elsewhere (FT journalists have already been handed a pay freeze for 2009).

JCB agreed a deal a few months ago where it would cut pay and hours in return for savings jobs – although the digger company went ahead and cut hundreds anyway a few weeks later.

I was a touch disappointed by the GMB quote in The Guardian. So I called the union’s spokesman, Steve Pryle.

This is what he had to say: “I have spoken to one official who was not aware of this and another who said there had been talks about going down the JCB route.”

That strikes me as more confirmation than refutation. By the way – the BBC has confirmed the tale on its website today. And Robert Peston, the Beeb’s business editor, has more to say on the subject.

Incidentally, here is the statement from the Community steelworkers union. Again, it’s denying that a deal had been struck; but I only wrote that talks were taking place (this is called a non-denial denial in the news world).

‘The report in the Financial Times is inaccurate.  Nothing has been agreed at this time.  Community Union has recently met with Corus Management to discuss a response to the current economic situation. These constructive negotiations are on-going and it would be premature to speculate on the outcome. As yet no agreement has been reached and no deal has been done.”

Why would unions deny today’s FT? For starters, members don’t like to hear that their officials are negotiating from such a weak position. Nor might they like the idea that unions have “offered” to take pay cuts in return for preventing job losses. So their line is that Corus suggested the pay cuts.

Here is what Community told the BBC:

“Any proposals which have come forward have done so as consequence of proposals that have been put by the company.” In other words Corus thought of it first. But yes we did agree to take it, and put it back to management.

This is semantics.