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Thompson and unions set date for licence fee showdown
Susan Thompson
Story from Broadcastnow: Published 24 Jan 2007 - Copyright Emap Media Limited 2006 - All rights reserved
DATELINE: 14/2/07BBC director general Mark Thompson has agreed to meet with unions next month to discuss what cuts the corporation plans make as a result of the lower than expected licence fee settlement.
BBC executives, including Thompson, will meet with senior officials from Bectu, Amicus and the NUJ on 8 February. Unions have condemned the the Government for setting a six-year licence fee settlement that will fall below inflation.
Under the terms of a deal announced last week (January 18), the BBC is also obliged to find year-on-year savings of 3% from 2008 onwards, and will have an overdraft limit of £225m, instead of the £400m it had sought. Thompson has already warned staff that cuts will be necessary.
Bectu assistant general secretary Gerry Morrissey said that it is now not clear how the BBC will be able implement the Charter without damaging quality programming.
"Our message to the BBC is that there is no way we will allow the burden of the shortfall to fall on staff. We will take whatever action necessary to oppose redundancies, privatisations and outsourcing."
Morrissey confirmed that this included industrial action although he added that he hoped this would not be necessary.
NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear added: "The BBC must think very carefully before making any changes to the structure or staffing of the organisation. High quality programmes must be the priority and these cannot be produced without maintaining appropriate levels of highly-skilled staff and properly funded departments."
A BBC spokesman said that the corporation has tried to keep the unions as up to date as possible throughout the licence fee settlement negotiations and would continue to work closely with them.
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/BroadcastnowArticle.aspx?intStoryID=166943
Last modified: Wednesday, February 14, 2007
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More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
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Previous stories
Public Service Broadcasting
BBC licence fee settlement - 'not good enough'
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Countdown to licence fee - but still time to act
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BBC - How it must change
Murdoch moves in on ITV
Grade abandons ship
Government split over licence fee
MPs to take up campaign against BBC ads
BBC needs realistic funding for switchover costs says DG
Scotland and Digital Switchover : Ready for the Revolution?
Charter Review bypassed Parliament, say Lords
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