BBC faces 'blank screen' strike

MAJOR sporting and news events face being hit by television blackouts, union leaders warned yesterday as BBC staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The Tennent’s Scottish Cup Final, Wimbledon and news coverage of the G8 summit are among the possible targets for industrial action. Popular programmes such as EastEnders and River City could also be hit.

The results of separate ballots involving the three unions at the BBC - the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Amicus and Bectu - yesterday revealed overwhelming support for strike action against management restructuring proposals that could result in the loss of nearly 4,000 staff across the UK.

Representatives from the unions will meet in London this morning to decide what action to take.

The Scotsman understands it is likely to consist of at least two one-day strikes with the disruption continuing over the following weeks. For legal reasons, the earliest possible day for strike action would be 20 May.

Both the FA Cup Final and Eurovision Song Contest, which take place on 21 May, could be hit.

Union chiefs have warned that their aim is to "shut live programming down, leading to blank screens and dead air".

Part of the dispute centres on proposals that would include viewers compiling their own news programmes from BBC internet news packages produced around the UK and worldwide. The staff cuts would finance the new project.

Yesterday’s ballot results revealed the extent of the anger across the corporation.

The NUJ reported that 84 per cent of those balloted voted in favour of strike action; Bectu, which represents technicians, reported 77.6 per cent support.

Pete Murray, the deputy NUJ leader at BBC Scotland, described the vote as an "extremely good result".

He said: "I hope the BBC will now see some sense and negotiate seriously with us. The on-going problem has been that they don’t seem to know the difference between negotiating and consulting. They regard negotiating with us as slapping something down on the table and saying, ‘Take it or leave it’.

"The unions are not desperate to call a strike but the feeling is that management are tagging us along. The mood is to fight and knock the BBC off its complacency perch.

"Management may be able to hold things together for a couple of days but not any longer. There is also a great deal of doubt over whether they have the technical expertise to do so."

Mr Murray disputed the rationale behind BBC director-general Mark Thompson’s figure of 350 million in savings that had to be met at the BBC. He said the union did not oppose technological progress but was concerned for jobs and quality of output.

Luke Crawley, of Bectu, said of the ballot result: "This is a clear signal to Mark Thompson that he is going too far, too fast, in his plans for changes.

"We’ve now got an overwhelming mandate for strike action, proving that the director-general is badly out of touch with his staff."

If industrial action goes ahead, the corporation will implement contingency plans involving non-union members and senior management. These include broadcasting a "stockpot" of programmes compiled in advance for emergency situations.

A BBC spokesman said last night: "Given the scale of the changes that the BBC need to make, and considering that the unions have not allowed us to talk to them in order to address their concerns, we are disappointed because we would prefer to continue constructive discussions with them."

Last month Ken MacQuarrie, the controller of BBC Scotland, defended the proposed job cuts when he appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s enterprise and culture committee.

Mr MacQuarrie said the reorganisation would allow 10 million to be invested by 2008 in a new tier of localised Scottish news services, which would address the focus that he said audiences had indicated they wanted.

Michael Matheson, the SNP’s culture spokesman, last night called for the BBC to reconsider its plans.

Mr Matheson, a member of the enterprise and culture committee, said: "The responsibility for any strike action which now takes place lies fully with BBC senior management who failed to engage with the trade unions in any meaningful negotiations.

"Recently in evidence to the enterprise and culture committee, Ken MacQuarrie and his team failed to put forward a coherent case to justify the job cuts they are proposing.

"These cuts in BBC Scotland would clearly undermine the quality of BBC Scotland’s programmes and BBC management should now get round the table with the trade unions and engage in meaningful negotiations.

"The strong vote in favour of strike action is no surprise given the inept way BBC senior management handled this matter."

Alex Neil, the SNP MSP who is convener of the enterprise and culture committee, said he was not surprised at the ballot result and criticised the BBC’s management style.

"The way the BBC management are handling this dispute is appalling," he said. "There are no negotiations and they are expecting people to take these cuts lying down.

"The BBC’s industrial relations remind me of the early part of the 20th century and are wholly unacceptable.

"I am also not convinced that there is a huge demand for locally based news at the price of reducing the national output at a local or national level.

"Such a move would drain creative media jobs from Scotland. There are very few indigenous producers in Scotland who could produce the quality of the BBC."

Last night the Scottish Football Association said it was not aware that the BBC’s coverage of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Dundee United on 28 May was at risk from the strike action.

Andy Mitchell, spokesman for the SFA, said: "It’s a matter for the BBC so I cannot comment at the moment but it will also be shown on Sky Sports."