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BBC technical staff begin strike Disagreement on BBC strike impact
(about 5 hours later)
Members of the BBC's technical staff have begun a 24-hour strike to protest at changes to working patterns. A 24-hour strike among technical staff at the BBC has been "very successful", union Bectu has claimed, though the BBC said it had been "business as normal".
"We are targeting coverage of the State Opening of Parliament and we are hoping to cause problems," said Luke Crawley of broadcasting union Bectu. Nearly 100 employees walked out over rota patterns, "all of our membership" in one area, Bectu's Tony Lennon said.
The BBC is said to be "disappointed" by the strike but is intending to "work towards zero disruption". A BBC spokeswoman claimed 61% of staff in the "affected" sections were at work on Wednesday but acknowledged the BBC could not tell who was a union member.
The strike, which began at 2200 GMT, may affect BBC One's major news bulletins at one, six and 10 o'clock. The action was timed specifically to target the State Opening of Parliament.
The action could also affect the BBC's rolling news channel, News 24. "We're hoping there will be some disruption to news operations today," said Mr Lennon.
'Well supported' "We hope the managers, who we know are covering the work of some of our striking members, will not be able to cope with some of the complicated faults which can happen in news."
Bectu's members are angry at the BBC after the length of their shifts was reduced, resulting in more days at work for many staff. Bectu members were striking over "changes in their scheduling patterns which could cut their pay by up to 20% and could mean they work up to 30 days more per year", he added.
Around 95% of those balloted at the beginning of the month voted for strike action. 'Consistent standard'
At the time, Mr Crawley said he expected the strike to be "well supported". The BBC said that at 2230 GMT on Tuesday, 61% of people "who were scheduled on the rota and expected in" were striking.
Further industrial action will be taken on 23 and 24 November, although Bectu has yet to announce what form it will take. That number had dropped to 39% by 1030 GMT on Wednesday, the spokeswoman said.
"The BBC has no way of knowing who is a member of the union and who is not.
"It's difficult to know how Bectu came to their figure of 100%."
The standard of Tuesday evening's 10 O'Clock News on BBC One and Newsnight on BBC Two had been "fairly consistent with what it would normally be", she added.