BECTU, the NUJ and Unite today said they will meet with members till the end of the month to discuss the new proposals, with the first strike dates set for 5 to 6 October, coinciding with the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham if the action goes ahead. This follows a ballot by the three bodies in which more than 90 per cent of staff voted in favour of industrial action.
Notice of action from the 19 to 20 October was also served following talks with the BBC today, while action served for 20 to 21 September will be withdrawn to allow the unions to consult further with members.
In an email to all members of staff today director general Mark Thompson said pension reform at the broadcaster is "inevitable".
"We have a large current deficit in our scheme and face long term pressures which, without action now, would undermine the Scheme and compromise the broader finances of the BBC. That is why we've tabled our proposals for reform this summer."
He said staff had shown concerns that proposals such as a one per cent cap on pensionable pay may "erode" current pensions and that future salary growth would not be reflected.
In response he put forward another option which members could consider, a new Career Average Benefits option, or CAB 2011.
"First you would leave your existing Defined Benefit section in the BBC Pension Scheme," he said. "As a result, you would become a 'deferred' member and pensionable pay you had accrued up to that point would rise broadly in line with inflation. You would then immediately join the new CAB 2011 arrangement in which you would build up benefits year by year for your remaining time at the BBC.
"The benefits would be based on your average pay from the time you joined CAB 2011 to the time you left the BBC. There would be no cap on how far this average could grow if your salary grew over the period either because of annual or other pay rises or because of promotion."
This arrangement would see an increase in contributions by members from four per cent for the current career average scheme, to seven per cent.
Following the announcement of the new proposals another consultation period will now be launched by the BBC, running from 16 September until mid-November. But staff unions say the new proposals are not enough to satisfy concerns.
"Whilst the BBC has heard and responded to some of our concerns, we are disappointed that the BBC's response fails to take account of the long term implications of the worsening of pension terms for staff and their families," general secretary of BECTU Gerry Morrissey said in a release.
"We believe that the BBC should be prepared to justify its position fully by agreeing to revisit pension benefits in April 2011 should official figures confirm that the total scheme deficit is less than £1.5 billion. That said, the latest proposals from the BBC warrant further detailed examination with members."
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary added that the proposals are "unacceptable and unfair".
"The BBC's continued insistence that staff pay much more for significantly worse benefits is unacceptable. We will be taking the union's case for fair pensions to a series of members' meetings across the UK.
"If the BBC fails to listen to the continued anger of staff at these unacceptable pensions changes we will be left with no choice but to strike to stop the pensions robbery".
Unions will meet with staff from 20 September until the end of the month.
Update: The BBC has since responded to the announcement of strike dates. In an emailed statement Monday evening a BBC spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that the unions have announced dates for industrial action. We are surprised that they have done so when we have just announced today a new 60 day consultation period on a significant addition to our pension proposals.
"We believe our pension proposals address concerns raised by staff and that they should now have the opportunity to fully consider and explore them within the context of an ongoing consultation rather than the threat of a strike".
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