Corporation could face walkout after negotiations over flat-rate £650 rise prove fruitless
The BBC is braced for more on-air disruption after broadcasting unions vowed to ballot for strike action over its latest "paltry" pay offer to staff.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said on Tuesday it will urge BBC employees to vote for industrial action when the ballot opens on 14 June.
This latest threat of strike action comes after fruitless negotiations between BBC managers and broadcasting unions over the corporation's annual pay offer.
The BBC's latest offer of a flat-rate increase of £650 for all staff was described as an "insult" by Gerry Morrissey, the general secretary of the broadcasting union Bectu, when it was first tabled in May. The unions are pushing for an offer that matches inflation plus 3%.
BBC bosses are under pressure to avoid further industrial action after strikes knocked flagship programmes, including Breakfast and Newsnight, off air earlier this year.
The NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, said: "We have had some constructive talks with Tony Hall, BBC director general, over compulsory redundancies and bullying, and established joint reviews to tackle the clear problems that have resulted as the poor implementation of the Delivering Quality First package of cuts.
"But there are outstanding issues: it is quite frankly insulting that members are being offered such a paltry sum when the BBC always seems to be able to find cash for executive pay and can write off almost £100m from its disastrous Digital Media Initiative.
"Our members care about quality journalism and quality programming and this cannot be done on the cheap if the BBC wants to keep and attract talent. The changes to UPA [unpredictability] allowances will create a situation where staff working the same shifts will find themselves being paid different rates. It is clear that the BBC want to introduce a two-tier workforce and we know that it will be long-serving staff on better terms and conditions that will be first to be picked off in future waves of cuts. The NUJ is not prepared to sit back and let that happen."
The NUJ also complained that the BBC's intention to halt unpredictability allowance payments for new employees would create a "two-tier workforce".
The earliest date for a strike is mid-July, but any walkout is likely to come after that date, as unions continue to negotiate with BBC management.
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The BBC is braced for more on-air disruption after broadcasting unions vowed to ballot for strike action over its latest "paltry" pay offer to staff.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said on Tuesday it will urge BBC employees to vote for industrial action when the ballot opens on 14 June.
This latest threat of strike action comes after fruitless negotiations between BBC managers and broadcasting unions over the corporation's annual pay offer.
The BBC's latest offer of a flat-rate increase of £650 for all staff was described as an "insult" by Gerry Morrissey, the general secretary of the broadcasting union Bectu, when it was first tabled in May. The unions are pushing for an offer that matches inflation plus 3%.
BBC bosses are under pressure to avoid further industrial action after strikes knocked flagship programmes, including Breakfast and Newsnight, off air earlier this year.
The NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, said: "We have had some constructive talks with Tony Hall, BBC director general, over compulsory redundancies and bullying, and established joint reviews to tackle the clear problems that have resulted as the poor implementation of the Delivering Quality First package of cuts.
"But there are outstanding issues: it is quite frankly insulting that members are being offered such a paltry sum when the BBC always seems to be able to find cash for executive pay and can write off almost £100m from its disastrous Digital Media Initiative.
"Our members care about quality journalism and quality programming and this cannot be done on the cheap if the BBC wants to keep and attract talent. The changes to UPA [unpredictability] allowances will create a situation where staff working the same shifts will find themselves being paid different rates. It is clear that the BBC want to introduce a two-tier workforce and we know that it will be long-serving staff on better terms and conditions that will be first to be picked off in future waves of cuts. The NUJ is not prepared to sit back and let that happen."
The NUJ also complained that the BBC's intention to halt unpredictability allowance payments for new employees would create a "two-tier workforce".
The earliest date for a strike is mid-July, but any walkout is likely to come after that date, as unions continue to negotiate with BBC management.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.