UK - The BBC is expected to water down plans to close its final salary pension scheme and put forward new proposals to plug the scheme's £2bn pension deficit.
 
An extra £100m a year from the licence fee is to be allocated to support the pension scheme in a bid to placate unions, which are furious at the proposed pension cutbacks for ordinary scheme members.
 
The BBC scheme costs the corporation around £140m a year in employer contributions, but under the new proposals, the scheme will receive around £240m, while member contributions are expected to double.
 
BBC union members have threatened to go on strike in protest against pay freezes and pension reductions for ordinary members of staff, while senior executives enjoy gold-plated pensions at huge cost to the fund.
 
The unions are expected to announce a one-day strike during both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat party conferences.
 
The corporation was considering using the assets of BBC Worldwide - its commercial arm, which sells programmes worldwide, to plug the scheme deficit, but is expected to abandon this option.
 
Meanwhile, the TUC is gearing up for a major clash with public sector employers over proposed pension cuts.
 
As TUC representatives gather in Manchester for their annual conference, trade union leaders were warning of industrial action in reaction to attacks on pay and pensions in public service jobs.
 
John Hutton, the former Labour cabinet minister, who is due to unveil an interim review of public sector pensions this autumn, is expected to propose higher member contributions immediately and more radical options, such as later retirement ages for implementation in the future.
 
In 2005, the government backed down on public sector pension reform when faced with threats of industrial action by eight unions.
 

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