Check your calendar

In the language of industrial relations, the BBC and unions are holding "an avoidance of dispute" meeting today, over the management's stance on staff appraisals - and I'm confident it'll be stormy.  Another meeting was set for this coming Monday, to discuss the BBC's pay offer of 1%, usually implemented in August. But yesterday Warrior Princess/HR boss Lucy Adams emailed all staff saying the BBC was going ahead whatever the unions said, and paying the 1% from June. In her note, she seemed resigned to some form of dispute: "Clearly industrial action won’t change the amount we are able to pay, or the economic circumstances we face, but it may damage our relationship with our audiences in a year when they will be facing tough economic conditions themselves and will be looking to the BBC for world class coverage of unique events."

For BECTU, Luke Crawley was first out of the blocks: “We’re outraged at the actions of BBC management and shall be balloting as soon as we can. “Our members are angry not only at the size of the pay rise, but also at the precedent that might be set if we allow the BBC to dictate to us, failing to listen to the concerns of their staff through their union.”  The NUJ and Unite have yet to reveal their hand.

In the last three years, whilst many senior management salaries have been frozen or cut (not far enough, in the view of many staff) employees in lower ranks have had rises equivalent to around 1%, 1.2% and 2% - while inflation, cumulatively, ran at 8%.

If the BECTU ballot calls for some sort of action/inaction, then it might start as soon as the Jubilee weekend. And there are plenty of other targets after that. I suspect the staff will rather enjoy the furtive conclaves of managers trying to work out emergency fall-back positions over the weeks ahead. And I wonder if Mark Thompson, in what should be a farewell grand tour year, has really endorsed this brinkmanship strategy from his Operations team (prop: would-be DG Caroline Thomson).

Here's a calendar of upcoming BBC event coverage - some unique, some familiar - that will be pored over by old hands on the union and management side. Click for slightly improved legibility.