The BBC is still counting down to the planned 48-hour strike by NUJ members this Friday and Saturday - and, if not tricky enough to manage, it comes at a time when Broadcasting House (Phase 1) has been emptied and staff distributed to bunkers, Bush House, TVC and Millbank. So Mark Byford, bloodied but unbowed, is back on deck as Gold Commander - and may even have his COO, Dominic Coles back from Harvard Business School.
And whilst Helen Boaden is urging staff to think about public opinion when approaching picket lines, her management team have the usual struggle to find people to front up the various elements of news output. Last time News 24 relied heavily on Susan Osman, who has since moved to China, criticising a "culture of ageism" at the BBC. The Independent has a good guide to who did what in May 2005, if you'd like to place bets this time.
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Ex-BBC Monitoring hack Peter Feuilherade recalls: On a well-personned NUJ/BECTU picket line a few yards from the solid iron defences of the BBC Monitoring fortress at Caversham during a solid union strike in the early 1990s, the ranks of pickets momentarily stood back as a white Transit van pulled up. "NUJ official strike," we shouted. "OK mate, I'm going back," responded the TGWU comrade.
ReplyDeleteIt was only two hours later we learned that we had turned away the van delivering the official NUJ strike posters. A luta continua!