BBC: Striking back at job cuts
MEMBERS OF the three main unions at the BBC – BECTU, NUJ and Amicus
– were out on strike in force on 23 May.
Many programmes were forced off the air as workers protested at
nearly 4,000 job cuts being proposed by director general Mark Thompson.
This 20% cut in staff comes on top of plans to sell off and
outsource other parts of the BBC.
As Newsnight business reporter Paul Mason said:
"I think Mark Thompson has a great vision in terms of turning
the BBC into a leading digital power but nobody can understand how he
plans to do that with one in five fewer staff."
If the BBC refuse to negotiate, this 24-hour strike is to be
followed by a 48-hour strike on 31 May and 1 June and a further 24-hour
strike on 9 June.
Interview with John Davidson, Chair of NUJ at BBC TV Centre:
"PEOPLE ARE very angry and disappointed that they had to strike,
because they wanted the BBC to talk and have meaningful discussions
about their plans. Basically they have refused to. They’ve talked at us
and not had any meaningful consultation or negotiation.
"That’s left people very angry that management hasn’t promised
to stop compulsory redundancies. They are also angry at the World
Service that they still don’t know what is going to happen there. And
people are irate that they’re not promising to look after the terms and
conditions of people – particularly Bectu members whose jobs are going
to be outsourced or privatised.
"We are also angry that licence payers’ money will be going to
private companies. Unfortunately, parts of the BBC are already
privatised. Now they want to privatise the broadcasting arm of the
corporation.
"So it’s going to be effectively just the British Corporation as
it won’t do any broadcasting! It will be the only broadcaster in the
world in this position, which is frankly ridiculous.
"We have had hundreds of members joining the union in the past
few days and weeks. It has been absolutely tremendous across the BBC
with dozens of applications every day.
"After the current round of planed strikes, we have another
strike day with the date still to be fixed. After that we will have
another meeting of unions at the BBC if management still hasn’t come to
the negotiating table.
"We are hoping that it doesn’t come to that and that they will
sit down to serious discussions and negotiation. But at the moment
there’s no sign that BBC bosses are ready to talk."
Molly Cooper, (national executive member of the National Union of
Journalists, personal capacity)
"THE TREMENDOUS strike action taken by trade union members in
the BBC clearly shows members are prepared to take a stand against the
job cuts. Many of the strikers out on the picket lines were taking part
in their first ever industrial action.
"Unions need to build on this mood for action. If the BBC aren’t
prepared to negotiate over the cuts, plans must be made to prepare for
the two further strike days on 31 May and 1 June.
"Trade union members I spoke to on picket lines at TV Centre and
White City in London saw clearly that, in order to defend jobs in the
BBC, the trade unions need a plan of strike action to defend every job
and make it clear they won’t accept any worsening of terms and
conditions.
"Meetings must now be organised in every BBC workplace to bring
together the best activists. Many of them have been energised by their
first taste of strike action.
"These meetings should discuss plans for action and figure out a
strategy to prevent managers from running a reduced service. The
meetings should also make plans which affect the long-term plans of the
BBC. In particular we need to hit them in the services where they make
their profits."
