BBC’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony next week is set to be disrupted by strike action in a dispute over staff pay.
The industrial action, which will run from midday to midnight on Wednesday 23 July, will affect news production for the opening of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, as well as newsgathering and programme production across BBC radio and TV services.
BBC1’s live coverage of the opening ceremony, fronted by Gary Lineker, Hazel Irvine and Clare Balding, is due to be begin at 8pm next Wednesday and run until 11pm.
BBC members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), media and entertainment union Bectu and trade union Unite voted for strike action, as well as a continuous boycott of staff appraisals and a work-to-rule starting from midnight on 24 July.
“Journalists across the BBC are not prepared to put up with paltry pay deals any longer,” said the NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet. “While those running the corporation continue to enjoy their lavish salary and perks at the same time as dishing out lectures about the need for staff to ‘get austerity’.”
The corporation has offered a “derisory” 1% pay rise to staff, tied to a minimum of just £390, for those earning under £50,000.
The NUJ did not say what proportion of BBC members voted in the ballot, but that 77% of those that did opted for strike action and 89.5% for action short of a strike.
Stanistreet referred to it as a “decisive turnout”, but Bectu’s figures show that only 42% of BBC members even voted in its ballot.
Of those almost 80% voted for strike action, almost 90% for action short of a strike.
“BBC rank-and-file staff are appalled at once again finding themselves at the back of the queue when managers sit down to review pay. Instead of playing to the political gallery,” said Bectu general secretary and lead negotiator Gerry Morrissey. “BBC senior management should have the courage to reward staff fairly for the increasing demands they face.”
The NUJ, which is calling for executive pay to be capped at £150,000 to free up cash for rank-and-file staff, said that more action is planned if management does not negotiate.
“Members are clear that they are prepared to take sustained action in this dispute and will name further dates if the dispute is not resolved,” said Stanistreet. “It’s time for the BBC to reevaluate its position and to resolve this dispute by negotiating a sensible and fair pay rise for staff who work so hard, for modest salaries, because of their genuine commitment to public service broadcasting.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will do all we can to bring our audience uninterrupted coverage of the Commonwealth Games. In the meantime we will continue to speak to the unions in an attempt to resolve this dispute. However we have already made an improved offer and we are mindful that across the BBC we need to make significant savings and deliver more for less.”
Source: The Guardian
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