Managers at the BBC have only themselves to blame for a 24-hour strike next month over the threat of compulsory redundancies for news journalists.
Issuing the verdict yesterday, the National Union of Journalists said its BBC representatives "unanimously" backed strike action unless managers reconsider eight compulsory redundancies.
The cull is part of a corporation-wide strategy to save £355m a year by cutting 6,000 jobs as dictated under the controversial Value for Money programme.
Negotiations between NUJ representatives and other BBC unions will be held over the coming days before strike action is decided upon.
Fuelling what the union described as angry reaction is the fact that hundreds of BBC staff have volunteered for redundancy while dozens of vacancies are being advertised, but managers have refused to deploy threatened staff.
The eight journalists in line for compulsory redundancy are in the BBC News division, with two at Newsnight, two at BBC People and one in New Media.
Jeremy Dear, the NUJ's general secretary said: "It's either incompetence or intransigence - a deal is there to be done but BBC managers are seeking to heap misery upon misery by pushing through compulsory job cuts and thereby provoking strike action.
"It's a poor way to run the world's leading public service broadcaster. BBC staff and licence-fee payers deserve better."
The union said BBC managers' failings and intransigence in negotiations are preventing a solution to this dispute.
NUJ National Broadcasting Organiser Paul McLaughlin, reflected: “We made it clear at the start of this process we would not accept compulsory redundancies because we said there was no need. There is still no need and BBC managers have only themselves to blame for the angry reaction of their staff.”
Feb 1, 2007
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