85% vote for Capita strike ballot
BECTU members in BBC Human Resources have voted by 85% to be balloted for industrial action.
BECTU balloted its BBC members who are threatened with an outsource to Capita.
Members voted 100% against the principle of being outsourced...
The members voted 100% against the principle of being outsourced but in a surprise result 85% voted to reject the Capita offer.
This means there will now be a ballot for industrial action.
The BECTU members, based in BBC buildings across the country are demanding that, as in other outsourcings, they be guaranteed the right to continue working on the BBC contract or be offered redundancy.
Capita, who intend to move 100 jobs to Belfast, are refusing to offer any such guarantee.
BECTU members do not see why they should be treated less favourably than BBC colleagues who have been recently outsourced.
They are insisting that the BBC should put pressure on Capita to provide the same guarantees as were offered to staff outsourced to Siemens or Land Securities Trillium or Medas.
In a recent development since the ballot began Capita have indicated that union members will have to re-sign a mandate to pay their union subscription from the salary.
No other mandates for charity etc have to be re-signed. BECTU views this as a hostile act and potentially illegal.
It is also a bad omen for future industrial relations with Capita.