Calm down

The days running up to proposed strike action in the BBC are always febrile, and this time there are complications which have inflamed things further. It's a time for wise heads. 

The order of events fanning the flames is this.  The BBC Executive's drastic action on an estimated pension fund deficit of £2bn first came at the end of June. The final salary scheme was to close to new members in December.  Existing members would find their potential rises in pension value capped from now on at 1 per cent per annum.  Finance Director Zarin Patel said the BBC had "no option... we have spent over 18 months working to find the best solution for our staff".

The unions and staff protested. On 1st September, results of the union ballot were 9-1 in favour of industrial action, but the unions held off naming strike days to allow talks to continue. On September 13th, they named 5,6,19 and 20 October as potential strike days.  On the 16th September the BBC added a new Career Average Benefit proposal to the offer, which would only be open to staff for a matter of months. They couldn't be clear about how much extra money the Corporation would have to pump in until numbers were known (though Lucy Adams estimated it could be £10-12m).  Staff, however, would have to contribute an additional 3.5% of salary. The BBC said this meant there was another 60 day consultation period.

Yesterday a letter from some 36 staff - presenters, correspondents and producers, all involved in coverage of the Conservative Party Conference - urged the unions to reconsider the timing of action. Some union officers were a bit snidey in response, arguing this was late in the day.   On the back of that, Mark Thompson told a staff forum that the timing of action would give a "misleading impression" [of the aims of the strike]. Mark Thompson is also reported as saying "" It's not that talks have broken down or there's an unbridgeable gap."

So big union cheeses - Jeremy Dear, Gerry Morrissey, and others - have a meeting with management this morning, and unless there's something dramatic from the BBC, a meeting of Mothers and Fathers of Chapels this afternoon will decide the next steps.  There's debate from some about action short of a full 48-hour stoppage - coming in and out in departments, so that conference coverage can go on. The argument is that a token stoppage is enough to make the point. But there's a head of steam amongst union officers that will be hard to cool, and a belief that management should suffer.  The audience won't much.  I'll take a bet that Shaun The Sheep (episodes "What's Up, Dog ?" and "Cock-a-doodle Shaun" go out at 6.15pm on Tuesday and Wednesday). . 

The best the BBC can offer is time. They should acknowledge that there is an official valuation of the deficit coming, and keep talking about improving options until that is clear. 

The last big strikes at the BBC were in May 2005.  They disrupted a full day, though there were few blank screens. The BBC was going to cut 4,000 jobs; the concessions were no compulsory redundancies for a year, and a moratorium on sell-offs.   Did anyone "win" ?

1120 Friday update: NUJ says negotiations with the BBC broke down on Thursday – there are now no more talks scheduled in advance of planned strike action on Tuesday and Wednesday next week

1655 Friday update: Unions say next week's strikes are off, to consider improved offer - though stoppages may still go ahead on 19th and 29th October (spending review day).