Informed 05


BBC investigated by equality watchdog


World Service’s Newshour and Radio 4’s Te World Tonight. Tey said it would severely damage the news coverage, undermine the distinctive voice of Radio 4’s only evening news programme and the World Service radio’s flagship, and was unworkable. Six production jobs would be lost and


remaining staff and presenters put under unacceptable pressure. Members called for support – a briefing was sent to the NUJ’s cross-party Parliamentary Group and MPs signed an Early Day Motion which called on BBC management to hold meaningful talks with the NUJ to develop a plan to preserve the quality and integrity of both programmes. Te BBC board has also been told to


Pensioners protest against licence threat


MPs back call for a stop to the merger of flagship radio shows and pensioners protest against the threat to free TV licences A survey of BBC members who have


lodged equal pay claims is being carried out by the union aſter the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched an investigation into the broadcaster following complaints from female employees.


Te commission has held discussions with the BBC about pay for the past year and said this month it suspected that some women at the organisation had not received equal pay for equal work. NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, said it was clear from the NUJ’s involvement that this was correct and results of the survey will be sent to the EHRC.


BBC journalists have issued an urgent


warning on the planned merger of two of the corporation’s most important radio current affairs programmes, the


ditch the deal which will require the corporation to fund the free TV licences for over-75s. A leter signed by the NUJ, Age UK and the National Pensioners Convention said the scheme would cause poverty among the elderly and compromise the quality of the BBC’s output so the government must take back responsibility for the benefit. Members of the NUJ’s 60+ Council joined a demonstration outside the office of the Department of Digital, Culture Media & Sport to make the same points. Te Daily Mirror’s Paul Routledge said Margret Tatcher had been the milk snatcher and her heirs were the licence snatchers.


Discussions about the £40m extra cuts in BBC News continue and Michelle Stanistreet met National Audit Office officials last month to discuss the BBC’s implementation of changes to pay and terms and conditions. Progress has been slow, and the unions have made an application to the ACAS-chaired Weekend Working Group to impose binding arbitration.


TV News


Aſter a long batle at ITV there has been welcome breakthrough and a new car-lease scheme will start this month, but discussions on changes to bank holiday working continue. ITN members voted to accept a pay offer of 2.5 per cent. At Alaraby, the year-long union recognition push resulted in a constructive meeting between Michelle Stanistreet and the company and there are high hopes of a voluntary recognition agreement. As membership increases at Iran International, the London-based 24/7 Farsi-language news channel, the union is pressing for recognition talks with its launch company, DMA Media, and discussing problems of victimisation of its staff by the Iranian government. At RTÉ the union successfully moved members on bogus freelance contracts to full-time jobs but is still pressing to make those rights retrospective. Te BBC has signed a £300m deal to provide natural history shows to a new global streaming service run by the Discovery Channel and the streaming rights to hundreds of BBC documentaries; the BBC will receive around £30m per year. Te BBC and Discovery have agreed to split the 10 channels run by UKTV, which they jointly own. BBC Studios, the corporation’s commercial arm, will take full ownership of seven entertainment channels: Alibi, Dave, Drama, Eden, Gold, Yesterday and W, while Discovery will get Good Food, Home and Really. It cost the BBC £173m, which came from BBC Studios funds and was not licence fee money, the corporation said … and finally, Michelle Stanistreet paid tribute to Sue Harris, national broadcast organiser who has retired. She said she would pass on a big collective thanks from colleagues and the NEC.


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