Treasure chests

It looks like we're heading for a gem of an industrial relations case study at the BBC. A strike ballot, over an imposed 1% pay deal, appraisal changes and other odds and ends, is underway - with threats that industrial inaction might hit Jubilee coverage. The HR side say there is no more money in the pot. The News boss says that the International Court of Newspaper Columnists has already condemned any walk-outs, and the UK Court of British Public Opinion would be outraged.

Meanwhile, the inexorable timetable of the BBC Calendar means the Annual Report has to be published shortly, and the now-traditional leak to The Guardian, indicates a £140m surplus, apparently deliberately built up in 2011/12, to provide cover for "any unexpected overspends in Jubilee and Olympic coverage".

Some oddities here: The Olympics and the Jubilee have had full-time staff planning coverage for years, not weeks. The finance regime is against "carrying forward", as it encourages hoarding. Either someone knows the two events are already over-spending or they don't.

Meanwhile, the staff will know that the surplus has been built up partly by job cuts - their mates have departed to establish this treasure chest. Which, if divided by the June 2011 headcount of 19,995, would give each employee a bonus of £7001.75p.