Please note: the union ballot was of UK nationals who are members of BECTU, NUJ and AMICUS.

Update: 11 July



Divisional value for money talks started on 8 July. All divisions will have met with the Union at least once by the end of July (except World Service who are working to a different timescale).

Update: 5 July



Update from Mark to all staff



The Joint Unions have now agreed to the offer we made to them at ACAS. Divisional value for money talks can now start and we can continue the change process. I know it's been a frustrating and unsettling time. But now we've got everything we need in place to move forward. What we want to achieve is clarity for everyone as soon as possible and the best outcome for all staff.

Update: 20 June



Update from Mark to all staff



BECTU has announced today that it is holding consultative ballots in the BBC, BBC Broadcast and BBC Resources and will be recommending to its members that they accept the offer we made at ACAS. I'm pleased that the NUJ has also agreed to move on to divisional talks without further industrial action. It's at divisional level that we can best address many of the issues that have been raised. We understand that all the staff unions (BECTU, NUJ and AMICUS) will confirm whether they have accepted or rejected our offer once the result of the BECTU ballots are known on 4 th July. Subject to the union consultation process, I believe that we now have a way forward which will allow us to work together to deliver the Change programme in a way which gives people c ertainty about their own future as soon as possible.

Update: 9 June



Update from Mark to all staff



Yesterday I met with full time officials from BECTU, NUJ and AMICUS at their request to discuss the change process. It's clear that we share common concerns and have a mutual interest in ending the current disputes quickly.



The offer made at ACAS, and the conditions it contains, remain unchanged. Yesterday's meeting was useful however. It gave us an opportunity to clarify how we intend to progress the Divisional talks and to re-affirm that our agreed procedures will be at the heart of the process going forward.



Our letter to the unions is below. The unions have confirmed to us that although they remain in dispute with the BBC, their industrial action is "suspended". They have told us that they will be consulting with their members on the ACAS offer and are happy to proceed to Divisional talks.



All the parties at yesterday's talks supported the principle that Divisional trawls for volunteers should begin as soon as possible to allow us to release savings which may help to mitigate possible future compulsory redundancies. I believe this is a good base from which to work, and I hope it can help to give all of us greater clarity about the future.

Update: 8 June



Mark Thompson to meet with unions at 3:30pm this afternoon.

Update: 2 June



Mark Thompson agrees to Union request for a further meeting



Mark Thompson has agreed to meet the BBC's unions, but said he cannot move beyond the offer the BBC tabled at ACAS.



In an email to all staff he said he believes the ACAS offer represented real movement and a significant effort to address the unions' concerns and so the BBC couldn't move beyond that. He continues: "but we can clarify any queries they have about it and also discuss ways we can use divisional talks and other existing procedures to go further to reassure them and their members".

Update: 1 June



Unions continue dispute



Although we have not received anything officially yet The BBC understands that at their meeting on 31st May, the joint unions concluded they didn't feel the BBC's offer on compulsory redundancies goes far enough and that they are going to request a further meeting with Mark Thompson to discuss their concerns. These include their view of the potential impact of the redundancies on programme quality and the workload of the staff who remain. This means that the disputes continue and the unions are reserving their right to call further industrial action - however, no further strike days have yet been called.



Read the Ariel Online story>

Update: 27 May



BBC Unions suspend strike action



The unions have suspended next Tuesday's and Wednesday's 48 hour strike after 20 hours of talks at ACAS finished shortly after six o'clock this morning. The unions will now put a revised BBC offer to the joint unions committee on Tuesday.



Read Mark Thompson's email to staff>

Update: 24 May



BBC and Unions agree to go to ACAS



The BBC has received an invitation to attend talks this Thursday (26th May) with the unions at the arbitration, conciliation and advisory service ACAS, aimed at finding a resolution to the dispute. The BBC accepted this invitation at once, without preconditions and welcomes the ACAS talks and will attend them in a positive and open-minded spirit.



What is ACAS?

Update: 23 May (1st strike day)



Read an update on the impact of today's strike.

Update: 18 May



Questions and answers about the union dispute.



Some things to keep in mind on strike day.

Update: 12 May



BECTU, NUJ and AMICUS announced plans for BBC union members to strike for 24 hours on Monday, May 23 and for 48 hours from Tuesday May 31 to June 1 in protest at the planned job cuts.

Ariel article for more info>



BBC response to industrial action:

We regret that the unions have decided to take industrial action. By threatening the BBC's output, the unions put at risk the BBC's relationship with the public which is not in anyone's interest. Industrial action will not remove the need for further consultation or the need for the BBC to implement changes which will enable us to put more money into improved programmes and services. We will, of course, do everything we can to bring the best possible service to viewers and listeners during any industrial action.



Other comments from the BBC:

BBC Director of Television Jana Bennett said during an interview on PM that she was conscious that this was a worrying time for many BBC staff members, but said the planned job cuts aimed to provide new investment for programming. She said it was important to continue to talk to the unions and to communicate with the staff. She said that the DG had met with the unions two weeks ago and had discussed with them the need for change. She said that the BBC needed to change in order to deal with the challenges of new technology. She said the BBC needed to invest in new journalism, drama and comedy and said the BBC needed to deliver these to the audience.

The BBC has received official notification from BECTU and NUJ of their ballot results (see below).

Question: "Are you prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of a strike ?"

BBC response

Given the scale of the changes that the BBC needs to make, and that the unions have not allowed us to talk to them in order to address their concerns, we are not surprised by the ballot result, but we are disappointed, because we would prefer to continue constructive discussions with them.

Update: 22 April

The BBC has now received copies of the ballot papers* which will be sent to members of BECTU and the NUJ from the end of this week. (AMICUS members will receive their ballot papers from next Wednesday (27th April)).



All ballot papers contain the question: "Are you prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of a strike?"



All the ballots close at noon on Wednesday 11th May, and we would normally expect to receive notification of the result the same day



The Unions have to give the BBC 7 days' notice of any industrial action resulting from a ballot outcome. This means that the earliest day any strike action could take place is Wednesday 18th May.



However, the Unions legally have 28 days within which they have to take their first incidence of any action so the BBC may not learn on the 11th which dates might be targeted.



*For clarity, the BBC has three separate disputes with the Unions: the BBC is in dispute with BECTU, NUJ and AMICUS; BBC Broadcast Ltd is in dispute with BECTU; and BBC Resources Ltd is in dispute with BECTU and AMICUS.