Ballots back BBC strike action
| Result from BBC members | ||
| Votes cast | 2457 | 49.4% |
| YES | 1907 | 77.6% |
| NO | 549 | 22.3% |
| Result from BBC Broadcast | ||
| Votes cast | 199 | 54.5% |
| YES | 175 | 87.9% |
| NO | 24 | 12.0% |
| Result from BBC Resources | ||
| Votes cast | 413 | 56.1% |
| YES | 357 | 86.4% |
| NO | 56 | 13.5% |
| Result from NUJ | ||
| Votes cast | 2159 | 64.2% |
| YES | 1810 | 83.9% |
| NO | 348 | 16.1% |
In a series of ballots which closed today (May 11) voters supported strike action by majorities as large as eight to one.
Separate ballots among NUJ and Amicus members at the BBC have also resulted in large votes for industrial action against Director-General Mark Thompson's plans for change.
In the NUJ's ballot, 2158 members participated, of whom 83.9% voted in favour of strike action.
Representatives from all three unions will meet in London on May 12 to review the outcome of the ballots and decide on the next steps in a campaign to resist a BBC reorganisation that could result in a quarter of all staff being sacked, privatised, or outsourced.
"We've got an overwhelming mandate for strike action."
Union officials expect that the meeting will vote to nominate at least one date for strike action, with the earliest possible date being May 20 due to a legal requirement for employers to be given 7 days notice of stoppages.
BECTU's lead BBC official, Luke Crawley, said: "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."
Any action also needs to take place within four weeks of the ballot result being announced, again for legal reasons, and union members have 12 weeks' protection against any disciplinary threat from the BBC once strike action begins.
The unions launched their strike ballots on April 22, after the BBC turned down three demands related to Thompson's reorganisation:
- A 90-day moratorium on changes and cuts to allow full discussion of their impact, both on staff facing redundancy or privatisation, and those staff who remain;
- A guarantee that redundancies prompted by a 20% reduction in the BBC's programme-making base, and a 50% cut in back-office functions, would be voluntary;
- Cast-iron protection of terms, conditions, and job security for more than 2,500 staff facing privatisation or outsourcing, including the right to remain in a final salary pension scheme, and preservation of the BBC's redundancy package by their new employer.
Privatisation and outsourcing are opposed by the unions, but due to current labour laws, industrial action cannot be aimed against the principle of sell-offs, and can only be mounted in support of a "legitimate trade dispute".
Unions are concerned that much of the work currently being done by the staff that Thompson wants to dispose of will be transferred to programme-makers and managers elsewhere in the BBC, putting at risk ambitious plans for an expansion of services on to new distribution platforms like mobile phones and PDAs.
BECTU's ballots covered members working directly for the Corporation, as well as those employed by the two wholly-owned subsidiaries due to be sold off - BBC Broadcast Ltd, and BBC Resources Ltd.
Many union members who work on a daily basis on BBC premises were not balloted because, legally, they are not directly involved in the industrial dispute, including staff providing property services through LST, and those in technology company Siemens who used to be BBC employees.
Amended 11 May 2005
Amended 12 May 2005
Amended 25 May 2005
Comments received
Do you know the dates when we are striking yet?
Alan, BBC staff, London UK 11 May 2005
Alan...no decision about date(s) is due to be made until tomorrow, May 12, when reps from the three unions get together. Details will appear on this website.
BECTU Webmaster 11 May 2005
On behalf of the NUM could I send fraternal greetings to members of BECTU, and also give our support to all its members in their current dispute with the BBC.
Steve Kemp, NUM National Secretary, Barnsley UK 11 May 2005
Very low turnout in the strike ballot! I think you stand more chance of success through negotiation rather than 1970s-style conflict.
Mr Phillips, Wales UK 11 May 2005
I only received my ballot at the weekend - too late to vote. Is that why only about half of us voted?
Jason, BECTU member, London UK 11 May 2005
How do non-union member BBC employees stand if they don't want to cross a picket line?
Martin, BECTU member, London UK 11 May 2005
Canvassing opinion in TVC today - a bank holiday strike would go down well, bringing management into work on their long weekends off, and not penalising as many members who will be off on that day.
Paul, BECTU member, London UK 11 May 2005
I'm 100% behind the staff at the BBC who will need to strike to save their jobs and to save the BBC from being destroyed. Shame on the BBC for trying to dismantle OUR national broadcaster, it's playing into the hands of profit-hungry and quality-light corporations like SKY.
I urge all BBC staff who are not already members of BECTU, NUJ, and Amicus to join immediately and support the strike.
Andy, BECTU member, London UK 11 May 2005
I don't think our normal 1 day strike is enough - management would cover with non-members and themselves. Let's kill a whole weekend, 12 noon on Friday through to 12 noon the next Monday.
Sean, BECTU member, London UK 11 May 2005
As a rail union member I do sympathise with the BBC staff over the privatisation plans - especially the disgraceful way pensions seem to be threatened.
I would plead with you however not to "black out" coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest - please, please don't!!
Have a go at the Cup Final - that'll grab the headlines alright and bring the dispute into the public eye.
David, Norwich UK 11 May 2005
II hope Mark Thompson & his merry band of hatchet wielders see sense and start negotiating with our BECTU leadership. But let's remember that the BBC senior management have completely failed to consult & negotiate so far. I think that's astonishing - perhaps it's because they are so arrogant? They clearly have little or no morals so are unfit to work for a Public Service Broadcaster, let alone run one!
If we have to take action I suggest a 48 hour stoppage from a suitable Thursday midnight. This should seriously disrupt all the live Friday & Saturday night output, including all the live sport programmes on Saturday. Plus encouraging staff working "normal" hours (Monday to Friday 9-5 style) to support the action & enjoy a long weekend. No doubt the management will try to provide a skeleton service along with scabs, so we will need some good strategies in place to try & defeat this.
Finally I'd like to say thanks to the BECTU staff for all your excellent work during this grim time.
John, BBC staff, London UK 12 May 2005
I think it is crucial we take as many live programmes off the air as possible and continue to publicise the reasons for striking. The public are much more supportive when it is clear the strike isn't about pay. Thanks for your support NUM!
Jane, BBC staff, Birmingham UK 12 May 2005
I agree with Sean. We need to come out for a period that's long enough to bring programming off air.
A three-day weekend makes a lot of sense, although it obviously hits some members' pay packets harder than others. Perhaps those of us who work Mon-Fri could contribute financially to share the burden?
We have to think collectively if we're going to fight these cuts and long term it's worth making a bit of a sacrifice if it means we can save jobs and preserve a decent service.
J, BBC staff, London UK 12 May 2005
The idea of a strike on a Bank Holiday weekend sounds like a good one, make an impact, without causing too much disruption for viewers.
Steve, BBC staff, Birmingham UK 12 May 2005
Although the horse (with Mark Thompson riding) has already bolted, I think it's worth keeping the pressure on for more negotiations before strike action takes place. The low turn out is a worry too and whilst it may seem like a mandate I submit the result would be slightly more even if everybody who was eligible had voted. Let's have one last push for face to face talks, then a second resolution if you will and then action.
Kieron, BBC staff, London UK 12 May 2005
Four days of strikes. In one months pay. Assuming a five day week over four weeks that's 20% less in my wage packet in the next month.
That's quite a cheque BECTU is asking me to cash - and spare me the line about "not all days may become strike days"...
You only make a threat if you are prepared to carry it out and, frankly, this level of industrial action over one month is going to prove quite financially crippling to some of us out there.
Why were the proposed days not staged over the upcoming pay-days, to make it easier on members?
Lee, BBC staff, London UK 12 May 2005
The flimsy excuse of "new technology" and "multi-skilling" will be used to reduce our workforce. The BBC said that until Charter renewal there would be no redundancies as a result of the "new ways of working". But even if that promise is kept, what will happen after the Charter renewal? A cull?
Claire , BBC staff, Manchester UK 12 May 2005
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