BBC Resources strike plan shelved

A threat of industrial action over the privatisation of BBC Resources Ltd has been lifted to allow talks on staff guarantees.

The decision to postpone a strike ballot at the wholly-owned BBC subsidiary came after a meeting on 17 May where management tabled proposals that met many of the union's concerns about the sell-off.

On one of BECTU's top issues - the right of staff to remain in a final-salary pension scheme after being sold - the BBC gave a firm, but not absolute commitment, that prospective purchasers would be obliged to honour this demand from the start of the sale process.

Management offered to consider whether this pledge could be strengthened, and agreed to present the union with a written commitment by May 25.

The BBC also agreed to explore the union's suggestion that Resources should be allowed to continue as a participating employer in the Corporation's own pension scheme - a solution that would reassure staff about their future benefits, but conflicts with a policy adopted by trustees of the BBC scheme.

Redundancy rights - the all-important BBC formula for calculating payments, and the eligibility of staff over 50 to receive undiscounted pensions - would also be protected said the BBC, but only for three years after the sale.

While this guarantee matched the promises made to staff in BBC Technology and Broadcast when they were privatised, the union argued that the sale of BBC Resources would lack the valuable long-term contracts that new owners Siemens and Red Bee acquired.

This posed the risk that a new employer could be tempted to rescind the redundancy agreement and sack Resources staff on the cheap, a fear amplified by predictions that the BBC might sell Television Centre in West London when TV programme departments move to Salford in 2012.

Management were unwilling to accept a union proposal that redundancy terms should be protected for five years after a sale to take account of the Salford move, but agreed to give further consideration to staff concerns.

BECTU expects a management response on redundancy terms to come with any written reply on pensions.

If the BBC is able to improve its guarantees to staff facing privatisation, the union will be expected to lift the threat of strike action over the sell-off indefinitely, allowing a peaceful transition to a new owner.

The union has not given a final view to management on a "cease-fire" over Resources privatisation, but has indicated that there would be no need to declare a dispute if the BBC was able to offer acceptable improvements to the proposed guarantees tabled at the meeting.

Privatisation of Resources was first proposed in 2005, but was postponed until January 2007 in a deal struck at ACAS after a one-day strike.

By this year, the impact of the Salford move, and the possible sale of the Television Centre site, had both begun to complicate the privatisation of Resources, and the company was not advertised for sale in January as planned.

Management now believe that an invitation to bidders will not now be published until July 2007 at the earliest, with the sale being completed before the end of the financial year in March 2008.

One key factor - the future of TV Centre - which is inextricably linked to the future of Resources, is unlikely to be settled by the BBC Trust until September this year.

At the May 17 meeting, management stunned union representatives by revealing that the future of Costume & Wig store, based at North Acton, was now in doubt.

In previous discussions the BBC had stated categorically that the department, owned by BBC Resources, would be kept within the BBC when the company was sold.

Now, it seemed, the BBC was keen to sell the building which houses Costume & Wigs - the old TV Rehearsal rooms - and the cost of moving the department elsewhere could make it economically unviable.

Management emphasised that no final decision had been made, and agreed to talks with BECTU about alternatives to the department's closure.