Strikes over BBC shake-up inevitable say unions

The BBC unveiled a blueprint yesterday which includes selling off buildings, showing more repeats and shedding around 2,000 jobs by 2016.

The Delivering Quality First programme includes savings of £670m a year by 2016/17 on top of £30m of savings generated by exceeding targets for its current efficiency programme.

It includes “a small reduction” in new programmes on BBC One, which will be replaced by repeats, and fewer chat shows and panel shows on BBC Two.

Around 1,000 more staff will move to Media City in Salford which will become the permanent home of BBC Three.

The report states BBC bosses considered “the possibility of shutting one or more services entirely” but rejected the idea on value-for-money grounds.

It states: “The decision to share Formula One motor-racing rights with BSkyB, for example, will save the BBC more cash between now and the end of the charter than we would have saved by shutting one of the smaller TV channels.”

Director General Mark Thompson said the plan would lead to “a smaller and radically reshaped BBC, yet still able to command the talent, technology and resources it needs to deliver the best broadcasting in the world”.

But the general secretary of the technicians’ union Bectu, Gerry Morrissey, said the programme should be called Destroying Quality First.

“They are destroying jobs, and destroying the BBC,” he said.

Mr Morrissey accused Mr Thompson of doing the Government’s “dirty work” by cutting spending and jobs, accusing the corporation of “salami slicing”.

He said the union did not accept the proposals, adding: “Unless the BBC changes its stance, I believe we will see strike action at the BBC before Christmas.”

The National Union of Journalists also warned of industrial action. General secretary Michelle Stanistreet said it was a “watershed moment in the BBC’s history”.

She said: “You cannot reduce budgets by 20 per cent and pretend the BBC will still be able to be a world-class broadcaster.

“Quality journalism and programming is inevitably going to be diluted. If the BBC presses ahead with these changes, strike action across the corporation seems inevitable.”

News staff were told in an internal e-mail that a “considerable” number of post closures would be made, probably reaching almost 100 by 2016, although newsgathering has been allocated £3.5m in reinvestment which would reduce the number of job losses to 70.

There are expected to be fewer overseas correspondents, with cheaper offices or shared locations with other news organisations.

Jobs would also be lost in the economics and business unit, 23 newsdesk posts would go as well as a number of English regional reporter and production posts.

There would also be “a phased but full exit for the BBC’s public services from their current home in West London” including its White City offices.

Television Centre is already for sale and Mr Thompson said there had been “a great deal of interest” from potential buyers.

Other moves include reviewing the BBC’s orchestras to find “efficiency savings” and less original programming on radio.

Less money will be spent buying films and TV shows from outside the BBC and the corporation also wants to reduce the number of “senior leaders” from around three per cent of its staff to one per cent.

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