Union members at the BBC are continuing their fight for public service broadcasting in the face of the corporation’s plans to cut jobs and services under its cynically named Delivering Quality First programme.
A lobby of parliament on 6 December was followed the next week by the opening of a strike ballot by members of the media and entertainment union BECTU at BBC Birmingham, which faces the transfer of much of its production to Bristol.
The fight for the BBC continues on the back of a significant victory at the end of November, when BBC management withdrew its attempt to impose worse terms for staff taking pensions from September 2013, and worse general terms and conditions for new staff from April 2012.
The withdrawal followed solid ballots for strike action from the three unions that organise at the BBC – the National Union of Journalists, BECTU and Unite. The BBC now accepts it must negotiate any changes. ■