BBC staff to strike

Wednesday, 11 May 2005 12:00 AM

BBC journalists and production staff have today voted to take industrial action in protest against 4,000 job cuts and increased outsourcing at the organisation.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bectu and Amicus all voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, which is expected to take place at the end of May or beginning of June.

Strike ballots closed this afternoon, with 83.9 per cent of NUJ members and 77.6 per cent of Bectu members voting in favour of the strike, which follows BBC director general Mark Thompson's announcement that 3,780 jobs will be cut to save money.

Representatives of all three unions will meet BBC bosses tomorrow in London, where they will put their case forward about Mr Thompson's plans for the corporation being "too far, too fast".

"This result is a reflection of the huge anger at the scale and impact of Mark Thompson's cuts," NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said.

"The cuts package is badly thought out, doesn't add up, will do irreparable damage to quality and standards and has been soundly rejected by staff."

Bectu's lead BBC official, Luke Crawley, added: "This is a clear signal to Mark Thompson that he is going too far, too fast, in his plans for changes.

"We've got an overwhelming mandate for strike action, proving that the director general is badly out of touch with his staff."

Because of rules stipulating that workers must give their employers seven days' notice about strike action, the earliest possible strike date is May 20, prompting fears that it could impact on big events such as the FA Cup final on May 21 or the Queen's tennis tournament in early June.

Any industrial action must take place within four weeks of today's ballot, although BBC officials will be hopeful of reaching an agreement with the unions tomorrow.

A BBC statement in response to today's vote read: "Given the scale of the changes that the BBC needs to make, and that the unions have not allowed us to talk to them in order to address their concerns, we are not surprised by the ballot result."

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