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Biting the hand that feeds IT

BBC Tech strike over outsourcing

Staff not happy...

BBC Technology staff have voted in favour of taking industrial action to show their opposition to the sell-off their department to Siemens.

Bectu union members voted five to one in favour of industrial action. About a quarter of BBC Technology's 1400 staff are Bectu members. The union wants a delay to the sale, a three-year job guarantee for its members and pay increases of inflation plus 2.5 per cent for the same period. The BBC named Siemens as the single preferred bidder on 7 July.

The union said in a statement: "Apart from the operational and financial risks posed by the sell-off, the savings target that led to the privatisation decision could have been achieved in-house, and the union would have agreed to job cuts if required."

BBC management hopes the sell-off, which needs approval from the governors, will be completed by 1 September. The union is expected to decide this week what action to take. ®

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