DG joins the propaganda war
An all-staff e-mail from Mark Thompson is the latest volley in a war of words, as BBC strike action approaches.
In the message, which followed missives from departmental heads to their staff yesterday, Thompson claims to have changed the attitude of politicians towards the Corporation with his plan for cuts and privatisation.
His changes, he says, "have turned the tide" of opinion, and the BBC was now on course for a secure future.
In a response from the union, e-mailed to BBC activists, BECTU argues that extreme ideas like dividing up the licence fee among other broadcasters, or not renewing the Royal Charter, were never really serious propositions, and the DG had seriously over-estimated the risks facing the BBC.
As a result, says BECTU, the BBC has "frightened itself into a series of self-inflicted cuts which will cause lasting damage".
Unions believe that many of the changes are driven by Thompson's political analysis that the BBC needs to be seen slimming down in order to protect the future of the licence fee funding system.
However, the announcement of up to 4000 job cuts which was made in March, came after, not before, the publication of a government green paper on the BBC, in which another 10 years of licence funding was promised. The Labour party went on to repeat the promise in their General Election manifesto, leading many observers to question whether abolition of the licence fee had ever been a real possibility.
In his e-mail, Thompson also repeats an earlier management claim that the unions decided to break off talks about the changes, precipitating the industrial action ballot that led to next Monday's strike.
The BBC's unions have emphasised that the negotiations over Thompson's plans foundered only once the BBC had turned down three protective demands made on behalf of staff, and representatives had not walked out of talks.
Preparations continue for a 24-hour stoppage across the BBC on May 23 involving members of all three BBC staff unions.
Text of e-mail sent to BECTU members in response to Director-General Mark Thompson
It is not true to say there was any serious support for ending the charter or dividing up the licence fee. Such ideas had been floated by rival broadcasters and lobby groups. As a result the BBC has frightened itself into a series of self-inflicted cuts which will cause lasting damage.
If the BBC, as it claims, is winning the argument why is it trying to sell two of its commercial companies, Broadcast and Resources? Why is it reducing its in-house production capacity by 20% and also accepting that 40% of BBC programmes will be made by profit-making independent producers? The BBC appears to be saying "We are prepared to sack and outsource 4000 staff, sell off two commercial companies, and accept a de facto independent quota of 40% to win the argument". Some victory!
Once the public understand that 80% of the staff will be trying to do 100% of the work and the effect that will have on the quality of the output there will be outrage at the idea of a licence fee for a second class service. These cuts will cause permanent damage too the BBC and its capability to make great programmes. They will not make the BBC strong and independent but weaken its production base.
The Unions have been asking for negotiations since December. We are sick of being talked at and being told that the cuts and sales are non-negotiable. If the BBC wants to negotiate we are ready. This is not an empty distinction but central to the whole dispute. We broke off the talks because the BBC has repeatedly said that they have to achieve these levels of savings and there can be no reduction in the numbers of jobs to be cut.
There has been no greater supporter of the BBC in its negotiations with the government over charter renewal than the trade unions. The only difference between us is that the nature of the and severity of the cuts. WE believe that if forced through they will drive down quality, force audience figures to fall and so lose the justification for the licence fee.
The reason that Monday will be the best-supported strike in the BBC’s history is because the staff believe that the management have got it dead wrong and the only way through is by negotiating with the unions.
Luke Crawley
Supervisory Official
BECTU