Union to meet Granada/BBC joint venture

BECTU is due to start talks with Granada and the BBC on a new facility company.

The new company, called 3sixtymedia, has promised to open discussions on with the union, after the announcement that its 420 staff will be drawn from Granada Studios and BBC Manchester.

Top priorities for the union will be job security, terms and conditions, and pension entitlements for the staff who transfer into the new company - 340 from Granada and 80 from the BBC.

Although the union has reserved its position on the creation of 3sixtymedia, it could intervene with Culture Minister Chris Smith, who must approve the deal, if Granada and the BBC fail to give adequate guarantees about the future of staff.

The prospect of redundancies for staff who are not transferred into the new company has also raised union concerns.

Talks between Granada and the BBC have been going on for several months in secret, but the announcement that a joint venture company will be set up on November 1 came as no surprise.

Both broadcasters were known to be looking for ways to cut costs, and the BBC in particular had problems of underutilisation at its Oxford Road site in Manchester.

All the new company's activities well be based at Granada's current base, and the BBC's studio A will close. Other BBC activities due to transfer to 3sixtymedia include Graphics, Post-production, and PSC.

Granada will own 80% of the new company, and the BBC will hold the remaining 20%. Its board will be formed by three Granada executives and two from the BBC. Granada's Mike Taylor will take over as Managing Director.

Union reps expect that talks on separating out areas due for transfer from other activities will be fraught in both broadcasters. The BBC is thought to face particular difficulty in splitting up its audio and engineering staff.

BBC management have said that Radio, Telecoms, parts of engineering, and the Central Technical Area will remain under their ownership.

The first meeting between BECTU and the new management is expected in week beginning August 14. In the meantime both Granada and the BBC have confirmed that the staff transfers will be covered by the TUPE rules, which offer some protection for terms and conditions.